Blessing of Neptune
by typhoonboom08
Summary: Growing up at Hogwarts with no idea of what he truly is, Perseus' life has always been interesting. However, now not only has Voldemort's return risked his future, others are arriving at Hogwarts and they are clearly not wizards. With the Wizarding world already tearing itself apart, will the results of Perseus' prophecy aid them or destroy them all? And where will Perseus stand?
1. Chapter 1

**AN:** Hey everyone, welcome to the main story. For any newcomers, I highly recommend reading the prequel story, 'The Infant Enigma' first or you're probably going to get lost. That being said, there is a time skip between the two, so this one starts in the Order of the Phoenix. Well, I think that covers everything I need to say. I hope you enjoy the story.

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**Chapter 1**

Walking briskly through the hallways, Perseus couldn't but glare in every direction he looked. He'd always loved Hogwarts, especially around this time of year. The castle was always fun. Talking portraits, a poltergeist stirring up trouble, ghosts with stories that scatter over a millennium, magical creatures and a few hundred kids playing with all sorts of spells and magic items, there was always something new and exciting to draw his attention. With snow only days away at this point and the upcoming Christmas holidays drifting into everyone's thoughts, the witches and wizards usually only had their excitement and enthusiasm grow stronger, filling the school with a buzzing, infectious happiness that usually had Perseus bouncing off the walls. This year however, you were hard-pressed to find any of it. Delores Umbridge had made sure of that.

Ever since that absolute toad of a woman had showed up, it was like the life of the castle itself had been drained dry. Tensions were high and everyone was forever fretting about what was going to happen next, especially those in the fifth and seventh years. Both years had major exams coming up at the end of the June and their Defence Against the Dark Arts lessons had been crippled. Though even that was overshadowed by the fear of what damn decree was going to be set over the school next. Each one was more oppressive than the last one these days and Umbridge showed no signs of slowing down. If anything, she was growing even more addicted to power. Now the only excitement in the students was due to the fact that the holidays meant that they could go home, far away from the bitch.

Add the fact that she was forever trying to get rid of both him and Hagrid specifically, simply because they weren't pure human, and you found Perseus physically having to stop himself from drowning her or ripping the earth apart from beneath her feet. Even going out of his way to avoid her wasn't helping, the damage she was doing was noticeable on almost every face he came across and just because he was avoiding her didn't mean that she was avoiding Perseus in the slightest. On the contrary, she seemed to make great effort in tracking him down and making a scene over how horrible he was if he so much as breathed through the wrong nostril.

Not wanting to deal with it right now, Perseus walked right passed the Great Hall as the other teenagers piled in, all keen for lunch. He'd already gotten all the food and drink he'd need for the day stored in his backpack, something he'd been doing all year. The House elves were more than happy to give him all the food he could eat when he visited the kitchens.

Heading straight out the main door, the school's greatest enigma walked right through the courtyard, across the grounds and down the lake's edge. Afraid of what he could do with so much water nearby, Umbridge never dared follow him down there. No one wishing him ill-will ever did. Once he was close to the lake, particularly when he was touching it, even Dumbledore was easily overpowered by him.

Even so, he didn't stop until he was halfway to the forest. There were a few trees and tables scattered around the area, with a few students using them here and there in small groups. A few of them waved and said hi as Perseus walked by, to which he responded in kind, but there was one in particular that had drawn his attention. Smiling, He made a beeline straight for a boy resting alone against a tree and flopped down right next to him, playfully bumping him with his shoulder.

"Amazing how you always manage to find me." The guy drawled, not even opening his eyes. "Yet I still can't figure out why you bother. All those friends of yours and all those little kids admiring your water shows. Why do you bother me so much?"

"Because you like it. You'd be too lonely without me." Perseus retorted cheekily, eyeing the guy daringly as he opened his bag. "And because you'd probably starve without me bringing you food like a House Elf. You ever heard of lunch? Or the Great Hall?"

"I'm more than capable of stealing from the kitchens myself." He replied, finally opening his eyes as a muffin was thrust into his hand. "And it's a good thing I do. If I relied on you for all my meals, I'd end up with no teeth and diabetes. You ever heard of the _healthy_ food groups? Why do all your muffins, donuts and half the rest of your food get slathered in blue icing anyway?"

"Because I like blue food and the House Elves like me." Perseus answered smugly, taking a bite out of a ham sandwich. "Besides, I'm sure you need the extra sugar, Alabaster. Carrying around all that attitude has got to burn a lot of energy."

Alabaster just snorted at that, a proud smirk spreading across his face before taking his first bite and sifting through the rest of Perseus' offerings, claiming an egg sandwich, an apple and a flask of pumpkin juice for himself. Rolling his eyes at the response, Perseus turned his attention back to his own food, content with companionable silence for now.

Alabaster's friendship was one of the few good things to come of this year. He was a bit gruff at times, could be really moody and you'd never catch him without a sarcastic or condescending comment on the tip of his tongue, but once you got passed that, there was...well, Perseus wasn't really sure what it was. There was loneliness, he knew that much, pain too, but there was so much he couldn't read hidden in those pale green eyes. There was a hint of warmth when he looked at Perseus, but that was relatively new. Initially, the water wielder mostly got shock and wariness from the spellcaster.

Alabaster was an enigma, one that Perseus' overly curious mind had latched on to since the day they'd met. He just hadn't understood it. He'd never even noticed Alabaster previously, but considering just how noticeable he was, that shouldn't have been possible. The boy's brown hair and freckles were par for the course amongst the students, but those eyes were unique and stood out almost as much as the sheer power the air around his body was practically humming with. Then there was his name, Alabaster Torrington. Definitely not the most unusual name around the school, look at his own for example, but it still sounded like something Perseus would remember, even if he did only hear it during his Sorting Ceremony.

Considering that he was a year older than Perseus, that meant that he was in his seventh year. That meant that Perseus had failed to notice his existence for six years. Of course, it was possible, there were a lot of students in the school and the castle was a big place. There was no doubt a number of students he knew nothing about and Alabaster was a loner, never really seen hanging out with anyone. He seemed good at hiding his existence, even the other people at the nearby tables barely noticed his existence even with Perseus beside him, but that was made null and void by the simple fact that now Perseus was almost drawn to Alabaster. Something that seemed to completely catch Alabaster off-guard at their first encounter. You'd think that Perseus had caught an invisible man with the wide eyed goldfish routine Alabaster had given when he realised he'd been spoken to.

The mystery only deepened the more time Perseus spent with the guy. Alabaster was special, he just couldn't quite figure out the how. His attitude was a front, one that was initially meant to scare Perseus off. He wanted companionship, but seemed adamant about not letting anyone even notice he was there. Perseus had a feeling that he was the only exception and that was hard won. Then there was the way he spoke sometimes, his eyes growing a little guarded, hesitant. Like he knew things and was worried about just how much he could safely reveal. Being raised by Dumbledore all his life, Perseus could pick up that look a mile away. His curiosity drove him crazy whenever that happened, but he knew better than to push him into talking. Alabaster could get stubbornly tight-lipped when he wanted to. Finally, there was the simple fact that he felt more at home with Alabaster than anyone else in his entire life. He'd only known him a few months and he knew the powerful spellcaster could be dangerous if he wanted to be, but he'd never felt safer or more relaxed with anyone before him. The only possible reason he could find for it was maybe because he was an outcast, even if it was strangely self-imposed. He was different from everyone else, didn't quite fit the way they did with each other. It may be for a different reason, but the situation was still similar to Perseus'.

The silence didn't last long once the food all disappeared. Perseus' ADHD never allowed it, so it only took moments before he started talking a mile a minute, bringing Alabaster up to date with all the latest complaints and acts of rebellion of the students, the way the teachers were looking pointedly in the other direction to it half the time and any little, insignificant event that he may have found entertaining. Not that Alabaster seemed to mind, or even have any trouble keeping up. It was one of the reasons he liked Alabaster so much. Most people always ended up confused, frustrated and annoyed with him, demanding that he slow down and focus more, but, if anything, Alabaster encouraged him to go faster and could spout back everything word for word if he wanted to. The older boy in Ravenclaw robes had admitted early on that he had and was used to being surrounded by people with ADHD, so keeping tracks on barrages of random conversations and hand signs was second nature to him.

While Perseus was talking, Alabaster was taking every word while his hands fiddled with a handful of cards he never went anywhere without. They always managed to catch Perseus' wandering eye, especially since he grew suspicious of their nature. He was sure he'd once seen Alabaster pull a cup of water out of one.

"I mean, seriously, if Umbridge can agree to let one Quidditch team practice instantly, then there's no reason to deny another. There isn't even the slightest bit of justification! What was the point, to prove she's a bitch?"

"Pretty sure she gets a kick out of getting that point across." Alabaster drawled, spinning a card absentmindedly between his fingers. "That and the enjoyment of power and suffering she can throw at people she doesn't like just because she can. People in power positions usually love reminding those beneath them 'there place'." He added, his face and voice darkening at the end. His grip tightening on the card as a finger traced the depicted sword's hilt didn't escape Perseus' notice either.

"Then I bet she absolutely loved it when the other teachers told her to stuff it and reinstate the team." Perseus smirked, sighing mentally in relief as the dark look turned in a, albeit smug and merciless, smirk. "If only I could have seen her face when she was forced to play nice."

"That is always a sight worth seeing." Alabaster agreed, visibly revelling in the thought. "Nothing's more satisfying than the thought of power holding jackasses being taken down a peg."

_'Phew, bomb defused. Now, to evacuate.'_ He should probably take better care of what subjects his mouth led him to. Alabaster had an explosive attitude toward most authority figures, especially those like a certain uncaring, high level Ministry official. How he hadn't sent Umbridge reeling and gotten himself expelled in his first class with her, or even get to this point as a student with people like Filch and Snape about was a galaxy away from Perseus' comprehension.

Fortunately, how to diffuse the situation was. Emphasise a failure and then move right on to something else, something a low attention span was perfect for. It only took his eye wondering back to the card for Perseus to find a new topic.

"Hey, do you have a sword like that one?" He asked curiously, nodding his head at the picture.

If distraction was the game, it looked like he'd struck gold. All signs of anger and sadistic pleasure were gone in an instant, which was shocking enough. But what really drew Perseus' attention was the split second tensing and panicked eyes before he schooled himself into a relaxed raised eyebrow. "What would make you think I have a sword? One made of gold no less! That'd be horrible for fighting."

"I didn't ask if you used one, I only asked if you had one." Perseus frowned, not sure what to make of it as Alabaster slipped his cards away. "Lots of wizards have stuff like that. As family heirlooms on display or results of their own fun with magic. And besides that, I..."

"You what?" Nervously rubbing the back of his neck under Alabaster's intensifying gaze, Perseus couldn't help but mentally kick himself. He wasn't big on making a fool of himself and once Alabaster got that look on his face, he didn't let the subject drop until he got what he wanted.

"Ok, I know this is ridiculous and I'm being stupid for even considering it, but...I've kind of...dreamed of you. Not like that!" Perseus didn't even need to wait for the gobsmacked look Alabaster gave him before how that sounded registered, his eyes blowing wide, a dark blush quickly covering his face. "I mean I've had dreams of you with that sword in your hand. I thought it was interesting that the picture on your card was of the exact same sword, ok? It was a funny coincidence."

"I see." Frowning, Alabaster turned his head back to the ground, biting his lip, leaving Perseus staring in blatant confusion. He'd expected to be scoffed at and told trusting dreams like that was stupid, not have Alabaster turn silent and...concerned? Troubled. He wasn't sure, all he knew was that this wasn't in any way an expected reaction. From anyone. It was almost like...

"Yo, Perseus!" Startled, Perseus whipped around to find three very familiar teenagers heading toward them at various paces and seemingly caught between saying hello and bickering amongst themselves. Or at least, the bushy brunette girl and redhead boy were. Their bespectacled friend seemed to be off in his own little moody world.

"Looks like your fans want you." Alabaster commented, rising to his feet. "Talk later, Seaspray."

"Wait, why not..." He knew it was a pointless, Alabaster was off before he'd even managed to turn back around. Sighing, he watched disappointedly as the brunette disappeared from sight before turning back to the excited Weasley and exasperated Granger as they reached him.

"Honestly Ronald, he was clearly in the middle of a conversation." Hermione ranted, throwing her hands out in the same direction Alabaster went. "Would it really have been so hard to wait a few minutes?"

"What? Whoever that was could have come too." Ron retorted, seemingly oblivious to the boy now right before him. "Besides...that guy's taken off. It couldn't be that important."

"Even if that was true, it's not the point, Ronald!"

"Hi Perseus, how are you?" The third member asked loudly, effectively shutting the others up and turning their attention sheepishly to the boy sitting before them. "Sorry if we interrupted something."

"It's ok. This time." Perseus grinned, pulling himself to his feet. "I said something stupid. You might have just saved me from teasing and questioning of my sanity. And of speaking questioning sanity, what are you three up to now?" He asked, his grin quickly growing more mischievous.

"Nothing against the rules, if that's what you're thinking. At the moment, anyway." Harry replied, ignoring Hermione's indignant huff and Perseus' resulting snicker. "Hermione found a charm for breathing underwater she wants to try."

"And I was hoping you were free to join us." Hermione went on. "I want to test the air bubble's duration and response to aquatic pressure and thought it would be good to have you there in case something went wrong."

"Well, I'm always good for a dip in the lake." Perseus smiled, nodding his head eagerly and setting off, dragging Hermione by the arm. "Come on, let's get to it."

"Perseus! Wait for us!"

Perseus just laughed in response, lifting a screaming Hermione onto his shoulder and running faster. He had no intention of stopping until he could toss her into the water.

He just hoped that they thought of a useful warming spell for under water while they were at it. After all, for the normal human, the lake's near freezing temperature would be near unbearable.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"Well, that could have gone better." Ron grunted, flopping to the ground the moment he reached the shore, shivering as the cold wind ruffled his soaked hair and clothes. "Considering how big the bubble was, I thought it would have lasted at least twice as long."

"And survive better depths." Harry agreed moodily between breaths, taking a seat by the ragged redhead as he glared at the lake. "Cedric's spell did better last year. Much better."

"Perhaps he used a different spell. Or maybe we have yet to perfect it." Hermione muttered, looking no less frustrated than the others, though it seemed more self directed in her case. Her eyes were forever running from the water to her wand, as if trying to determine just how she screwed up and where exactly to place blame.

"Oh, Cedric definitely used a different spell." Perseus chuckled amusedly, deliberately ignoring the pang of sadness all four of them felt at the memory of the poor guy. "It was clear that you were using a different spell from the start. More accurately, the moment you all turned into bubbleheads."

In all honesty, Perseus had found it absolutely hilarious and hadn't had the slightest issue with making that known. It couldn't be seen above the surface while they were casting the spell, but the moment the school's so called 'Golden Trio' have dived, they looked like they'd dumped fishbowls over their heads. It was a good thing that he couldn't drown, because Perseus was choking on his own laughter for almost the entire half hour trip, much to the disgruntlement of the younger teens.

Perseus, having watched the Tri Wizard's lake task actually in the water, had curiously and carefully observed every competitor's methods to move and breathe underwater, so he was able to see the difference in the trio's spell and the one used by Cedric and Fleur right away. He just hadn't felt the need to comment on it.

That is, until they started swimming deeper. The air bubbles were quickly growing smaller and started fluttering as the water pressure increased before they ultimately just popped. The stunned witch and wizards quickly panicked in response and would be dead already had Perseus not noticed and sent them surging to the surface.

"Great. We tried underwater breathing with a less than stellar spell. Would have been nice to know _before_ the bubble burst!" Ron grumbled, directing a scathing look at the snickering water wielder. "Seriously, unlike you, we actually _needed_ the air bubbles. Warn us next time, would you?"

"Hey, how would I know that the bubbles were short lived and hated pressure? I didn't research the spell, you did." Perseus retorted, still smiling the whole time. "I only realised that it wasn't Cedric's, not that it was lousy."

"How did Cedric's work?" Hermione asked, sighing gratefully as Perseus placed his hand on her shoulder, instantly drying her. "What were the differences?"

"Well, for a start, his only created a bubble around his mouth." Perseus responded, moving on to dry the boys. "Then, if I'm right about what I felt from the water around it, his spell drew in oxygen from the water, similar to a fish's gills."

"So as long as the spell was active, he would have an endless supply of air." Hermione summed up with an irritated frown. "Whereas our spell simply captured the air around us while we were above the surface, leaving us with a very limited supply."

"Which couldn't handle nearly as much pressure either." Harry added as he grabbed their outer robes, passing out the others' before putting on his own. "I doubt that bubble could have handled the merfolk's home's depth at the beginning of its use."

"Not a chance." Perseus nodded, moving some of his still wet strands out of his eyes. "One Grindylow tentacle would have whipped that thing into oblivion."

"Well, it's back to the library again." Hermione stated, eliciting a loud groan from Ron. "Oh, stop it Ron! Searching for survival spells will save your hide, not kill you."

"So, preparing for anything then?" Perseus asked, more for the sake of stopping the eternal argument than anything else. He was just as curious and nosey as this trio, he snuck his way into everything, with the exception of most of Potter's adventures. The only time he'd really gotten involved in one of their less then approved activities had been the Dementor fiasco, and that had only been because he was already sneaking out to the lake and noticed the floating, hooded eyesores come back after a massive Patronus spell. A quick water tornado took care of that problem nicely.

But still, even if he didn't get involved much, he paid careful attention to as much of their schemes as he could, partly out of curiosity and partly out his protective streak. Harry was a friend, one that claimed he didn't go looking for trouble before and during doing everything within his power to seek it out. Perseus learned quickly to keep a close eye on the boy and his friends and to eavesdrop whenever Albus and the staff mentioned his name. He knew that Harry was targeted by Voldemort just a badly, if not more so, as Perseus himself and he knew Harry was leading a small rebellion against the Ministry's interference with their defense lessons, called Dumbledore's Army, of all things. Now, Perseus saw what they were doing and laughed at it, but seriously, that could get both them and Albus in serious trouble without the Headmaster even being aware of what was going on. Ha, like he didn't know, but that was besides the point.

"You never know what life will throw at you. Especially now." Harry said sharply, almost challengingly, like he was expecting Perseus to argue. The boy in question just shrugged in agreement. There was no point getting offended over it, Harry was defensive, moody and snappish with just about everyone these days. Instead, he opted to try and help.

"Maybe you should talk to your new friends, Boot, Corner and Goldstein." He suggested with a grin, one that only grew from light to mischievous as they turned tense, gobsmacked and incoherently stuttering in Ron's case. "Yeah, I know about your extracurricular activities, but anyway, my point is that they're smart and let me tell you, between the three of them, they get into everything. And if they don't know it, Roger Davis probably does. They could ask him for you if you can't do it yourself."

"That's...sound advice." Hermione nodded slowly, once again looking a little troubled. It was funny with her sometimes, she knew so much more than most of her year, especially those she chose to hang out with, that she never seemed to realise that other students may actually know things that she doesn't. Perseus wasn't entirely sure if the troubled look was directed toward herself for not thinking of the possibility before or outwardly at the fact that it was true.

"Well, that will all have to wait." Harry exclaimed, tossing Ron his bag before collecting his own. "We have five minutes to make it and suffer through Umbridge's class before she gives us all detention and lands us with dealing with her every night for the next week."

"Can't we just land her with one of Hagrid's Hippogriths instead?" Ron groaned, scowling as he followed his friends.

"Don't temp me. Please." Perseus called after them, physically have to restrain himself from doing just that as the resulting image popped into his head. The Hippogrith would tear the disrespectful woman to shreds in an instant and while Perseus was far more comfortable with that idea than he knew he should be, he, Hagrid, the wonderful bird-horse hybrid and Dumbledore would be the ones who'd truly suffer at the Ministry's retaliation. You know, before the school would be turned basically into the epitome of oppression. "Just try to keep your mouths shut in there. You might just make it out alive. It's only an hour and why would you want to talk to that crone anyway?"

"Yeah right, like you ever keep your mouth shut around toss pots!" Ron shouted back. "It's not nearly as easy as you're making it out to be and you know it!"

"Yeah, but I can walk off. You can't. Sucks to be you." Perseus laughed in response as he waved them off. "See you around."

The trio just kept running, huffing or groaning as they went, much to Perseus' amusement and sympathy. He was really lucky that he was neither student nor teacher, he was the one person in the entire castle that could just tell that woman where to shove it and take off on her, though even he had to be careful how he worded it these days. The only people he'd wish that bitch on were the mouthy blood supremists, but they all liked her, for the most part, so that made the point of it null and void.

Shaking his head at the matter one more time, he let out a large sigh and let it go, turning back to the lake. There was nothing he could do about her and her moronic, self-serving Ministry. With the monsters only growing more frequent whenever he got close to the school boundaries, there wasn't anything he could do beyond the castle, period.

However, that didn't mean that there was nothing that he could do. He'd decided the day he discovered Voldemort had returned that he wasn't just going to twiddle his thumbs behind the safety of Hogwarts' defenses. If he still couldn't leave it, then he'd protect his home and everyone in it.

...

Even from the castle, the water child's efforts were well and truly visible. A good portion of the lake was in absolute chaos.

A large whirlpool dominated the disruption on the surface, but that was only the beginning. Geysers randomly popped up all throughout the rapid vortex while water balls were floating in the air all around it. That is, before they'd suddenly launch themselves in seemingly random patterns at high speed. Other water spouts rose from time to time as well, taking the form of hands or tentacles. And amongst all of it was Perseus, riding the top of spinning current like a surfer and dodging and weaving around everything to come in his way. The sheer power and strong, but split focus needed to pull off such a stunt was nothing short of amazing.

The very sight of it had Umbridge absolutely steaming with rage.

The woman had frozen by the window the moment she'd noticed the irregularity, her hands turning white as they clenched down on the stone. Her eyes burned with only rising rage and hatred the longer she watched, with every new rising stream and surging water ball.

If there was one thing she hated more than Dumbledore and Potter, it was that abomination. A filthy hybrid living in Hogwarts and he wasn't even a wizard! If that wasn't enough, the sheer power he had was ridiculously strong. Dumbledore's greatest weapon was right in front of her, bending the lake to his will and shaking the earth beneath their feet, and she had yet to succeed in doing anything about it.

Oh, she had tried. Again and again she had attempted to have him removed only to fail time and again. When she'd been granted to position of High Inquisitor, she had been certain that she could get rid of him once and for all, but still all her attempts were defeated. Dumbledore had blocked her efforts at every turn, using his authority over the castle residency, results and statements gathered from previous attempts to remove the brat and the simple fact that no one had ever been truly harmed by him, discrediting the majority of her strongest arguments. Such a despicable creature didn't even belong in the Wizarding World, yet she couldn't even get him evicted from the castle!

"How can they claim he isn't threatening? What he's doing right now is incredibly dangerous to everyone around him." Seething, Umbridge finally pulled her eyes away just long enough to pull out a small notebook and quill, taking notes of the incident. "I'll make them see. A stunt like this-"

"Is quite safe, considering the level of care Perseus takes before beginning." An irritatingly smug voice interrupted her. Whipping around, Umbridge barely managed to reframe from exploding as she found Minerva McGonagall approaching her, a look of mock reassurance gracing her face that didn't reach her eyes.

"You dare to call this safe?" Umbridge retorted, waving her hand wildly at the window as the whirlpool started shifting into a huge wave. "I believe your understanding of the word may been lost if you believe that there is any safety in such actions. Anyone in or simply close to the lake is in terrible danger and it is all thanks to that _boy_!"

"During a time period when most students are in classes?" Minerva raised an eyebrow. "Those with free periods are all upper years and have the common sense not to go near the water. In addition, Perseus always takes great care to ensure that no one is within range of his actions before he begins. He even informs the marine life to stay clear of his training area before he begins and keeps the altered water flows close to the surface, so even the simple minded fish are unaffected by his training. If someone were to get hurt during his practice, I would be more inclined to question the intelligence of the idiot who thought sneaking in close would be a good idea, rather than blame Perseus. He's very thorough and quickly notes anyone's approach. If you do not believe me, then by all means, go down there yourself and see how close you get before the water calms. I would place a bet that you would get halfway there before he stops training."

"And what, may I ask does he need to train for at all?" Umbridge asked, forcing her sickly sweet smile and voice back in place. "What could possibly warrant the use of such destructive magic?" She had her this time, she was sure of it. If Umbridge could prove that he was training to fight for Dumbledore, that would end his time in these walls. With that kind of training, there was only one thing he could be preparing for. If she could get Minerva to admit it, then that was it. The last nail would be put in the coffin and the abomination would be gone for good.

Unfortunately for her, Minerva wasn't playing the game as Umbridge hoped. "Why, to maintain control, of course." She answered, as if it was the most obvious thing on Earth, effectively wiping Umbridge's victorious smile right off her face. "He's still young, his powers are still growing. In order to maintain his full control, he must experiment and train frequently. If one is unaware of the current strength of their magic, it could cause accidents or unexpected results."

Unprepared and unable to come up with a response to that, Umbridge dropped all pretenses and only stuck around just long enough to turn a red faced, scathing look back out to the lake before storming off, completely ignoring the smirking witch behind her.

_'Of course Minerva would make a claim like that! As if she would not be prepared to protect Dumbledore's little weapon.'_ Umbridge wasn't fooled in the slightest. The boy was incredibly strong and resistant to wizardry. He was the most valuable tool in Dumbledore's collection, the greatest threat he could throw at the Ministry. _'Such an abomination shouldn't even be associated with our world. It shouldn't even exist._'

Reaching her office, she practically assaulted her door open before slamming it shut and making her way to her desk. Taking a seat, she simply sat there for a moment, stewing over it all, before forcing herself to calm down enough to grab some parchment and quill and set to work. As with every post encounter with the outsider, she quickly wrote a report for Fudge, complete with Minerva's claims and her own personal opinions on the matter.

But that wasn't enough. Not nearly enough. She'd had more than enough of this freak strutting down Hogwarts' halls as if he owned the place, as if he had any right to them. She'd had enough of every angle she attempted to use against him being rebuffed by Dumbledore and his loyal watchdogs. Sick of him being able to avoid so many of her Decrees simply because he was neither staff or student. No, this was going to end.

If the current situation was insufficient to get rid of him, then she'd simply change the situation. It wasn't as if she didn't have the power to do so. She'd make more decrees, at every opportunity he gave her. Ones written carefully so they would affect everyone, including him. He'd already given her an idea, what with his 'dangerous and reckless display of power'. A decree against such a thing was easily justifiable. It would mostly just be an upgrade to a previously existing rule, after all.

A large smile grew across her face as she prepared the request for the Minister's approval. With her latest report on the water devil going with it, there was no doubt in her mind that it would be approved within minutes of reaching his desk.

Take in the fact that the freak was insolent and impulsive, once this decree got through, it would only be a matter of time before he defied it and was evicted from the school and hopefully either kicked back to wherever he'd come from or locked away to rot in the Ministry's custody. Honestly, as long as he was gone from the Wizarding World and Albus' grasp, she didn't care which.

Hell, she wouldn't even care if he was left for the monsters hunting him to eat him alive.

...

Perseus' whole body felt like lead as he rode one last wave back to land. His lungs burned, forever demanding more air, never getting nearly enough, and his eyes barely managed to stay open long enough for him to make it back to shore.

_'Maybe I should have just stayed in the water.'_ Hindsight could be a pain sometimes. The lake water had soothed and supported him, letting him go a little further, all of which disappeared the instant his feet touched dry sand, leaving him to flop face first into the ground. Turning his head to the side, he decided any more effort was pointless and just laid there, closing his eyes and letting his muscles relax.

He'd overdone it again. Albus and the teachers advised him against it all the time, but once he started practicing, all thoughts of conserving strength never entered his mind again until he was done and kicking himself for it. Most times he didn't even make it back to shore if he was practicing actually in the lake, simply passing out and taking a nap underwater. It wasn't like it was dangerous or anything. He could breathe underwater just as easily as he could above and the water seemed to help him get his strength back quicker. But as that wasn't intentional, it used to get him lectures about the danger of letting yourself run so dry, so he tried to make a point of always getting himself back to land before he'd crash. It was a step into noting his fading strength at least.

Though that was a bigger pain to be honest. In the water, he floated and relaxed. On land, he had nothing to soothe his tired muscles.

Giving in to his exhaustion, Perseus let his eyes close, sighing blissfully as his breath finally evened out, enjoying the mix of warm sunlight and cool air touching his wet skin. The warm sand beneath him was rather comfortable too, now that his chest wasn't heaving. He was more than happy to lay and take a nap.

"DAARRGH!"

That was until the pained scream struck his ears. Adrenaline already pumping through his veins, his eyes snapped right open and he was on his feet within a second, taking proper note of where he'd come to shore. It was along where the lake met the forest, but not too far down. There was still a bit of distance between him and the school's protective barriers, so he should be safe. Whatever was going on, it shouldn't end with him facing a monster. Unless Hagrid brought in something he shouldn't again.

Unable to see anything, Perseus closed his eyes and strained his ears, trying to pick up any hint he could. It only took a few moments. A little to his left he heard it, the distinct sounds of tree branches being flung and bushes hastily ploughed through. Sharp breaths joined in a moment later. The kind that were deep, loud and rapidly growing more ragged. But definitely human, of that he was sure.

Opening his eyes, Perseus didn't even hesitate, he just charged right towards the noise, only sparing enough thought to summon enough water for a whip to him as he ran.

He doubted that he'd been running for even a full twenty seconds before he found the source of the scream. A little ahead of him, an Asian boy about his age burst around a bush. Though Perseus was sure that was the wrong word for it. Stumbled and flailed were probably better.

The boy was an absolute mess. The eye patch covering his left eye was the only piece of fabric that wasn't ripped, tattered and smeared with way too much blood. Cuts, bruises and swellings covered almost his entire, dangerously pale body. The one on his side was no doubt the worse one. Though still hidden from view by the remains of his shirt and a hand firmly clasped over it, It was clearly bleeding a lot worse than the others. With a single glance, even Perseus could tell that he was far too close to death.

However, as much as he wanted to focus on the boy, he was still running for a reason. Only three feet behind him was a creature Perseus hadn't seen in years, but one that still gave him nightmares. An Acromantula.

Not letting himself think of the implications that sight suggested, Perseus flung his arm up and unleashed his whip. Latching it around the spider's front legs right as it was about to ensnare the now falling boy, he swung his arm again, having the water spin and fling it away, crashing hard into a tree further back in the forest.

All the while, he never stopped running, sliding in to catch the boy before he hit the ground. Quickly shifting him into his arms bridal style, Perseus forced his own exhausted body back up and stumbled back the way he came as fast as he could. The boy, who he knew looked familiar, though he couldn't place from where, wouldn't survive much longer without Madam Pomfrey and Acromantula rarely moved around alone in this forest, so his own lethargy could take a hike.

It was when he broke through the last of the trees that the adrenaline died out, his vision quickly growing black spots. He almost dropped the guy before barely pulling himself out of a fall a moment later, but he pressed on, straight into the lake.

The moment he touched water, he sent out a call to every sea creature he could reach, begging for help. He could feel the water giving him some energy, but he was too far gone, his body needed rest.

Fortunately, just as he felt his vision faded, comforting tentacles embraced him and his companion, supporting them right as what could only be merpeople above water started screaming.

At least he could pass out knowing that help was coming. He doubted anyone in Hogwarts had failed to notice those screams.

* * *

**AN:** Thanks everyone for the favourites, follows and reviews. I really appreciate them. See you next week.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

_The air was ringing with clangs and clatters of metal clashing with metal. The sounds echoed spectacularly throughout the giant room, reverberating off the white and gold walls and marble pillars._

_The room's size was so grand, as were the twelve dramatically different thrones surrounding the hearth, it was clear in an instant that this place was not meant for humans. Standing by one of the thrones, one that had an air about it that felt very familiar and alluring to Perseus, he couldn't help but feel insignificant. If he were to sit in it, it would be like when he was a toddler sitting on Albus' chair in the Great Hall, feeling absolutely tiny. Yet still, he was pulled toward it, so much so that he almost didn't notice the people scattered around the room, metallic weapons in hand and viciously trying to slaughter each other._

_It wasn't until one of them hit the ground and everything went quiet, if only for a moment, that his attention was drawn to the fight before him._

_On one side of the room were three teenagers, all of them gasping and grunting in pain where they lay before each warped into various expressions of shock. All three of them were female. One bore blonde hair with sharp, intelligent, grey eyes. The other two both had black hair, but one had electric blue eyes while the other had brown, with fairer skin. Both black haired girls practically radiated with power, the same way Perseus was always told he did. _

_However, Perseus could barely focus on them for a second before his attention was seemingly forced to the cause of their shock, a pair of boys. The blonde boy with a scar on his face was lying on the ground, though there wasn't the slightest sign of real pain on him. Instead, he looked almost as shocked as the girls did, though it was quickly shifting to fury, something that was only emphasised by the odd, fierce yellow eyes. _

_The other was a Japanese boy with an eye patch over his left eye and a broken bronze sword in his hand. Unlike the others, he wasn't focussing on the downed guy at all. Instead, he was staring right at the brown eyed girl almost pleadingly, as if he was desperate for her to understand._

_"If she...if she just had a throne..." Whatever else he was going to say was lost forever, for at that moment, the blonde boy shot up with a growl and thrust the broken blade right into the other's side. He spared only a second to glare spitefully at his apparent traitor's paling face before giving the guy a powerful shove and sending him flying right out of a window and down a seemingly endless cliff._

"NO!" Eyes snapping open, Perseus was up before he'd even realised that he'd moved, whipping his eyes in all directions even faster than his erratic heartbeat as he searched for the injured victim. However, once his mind actually began registering what was around him, he quickly determined the futility of his search. He wasn't in some ancient, marble throne room on top of a mountain, he was sitting on his bed in his chambers at Hogwarts.

"Just a dream." Gasping, he let his body relax and slump down, supporting himself with his hands on his knees as he tried to calm down his breathing, frowning as it took longer than he expected. His frown only grew deeper as his lungs finally did calm down. The dream had shaken him.

It felt too real. But that alone wouldn't shake him like this anymore. He'd had those kinds of feelings all his life. He had a few of what he'd define as normal dreams, but most times that his mind depicted such things...well, it was like he was truly there. He could feel the weather in those dreams, saw details so clearly, so well defined. If he touched something, he'd always feel the complex, detailed texture, the softness or hardness, as perfectly as if he was conscious and touching his bedpost or a vine. He'd seen death before too, even felt someone die under his hands as he pointlessly tried to save them. That was the most horrifying moment of his life. He'd been eight at the time. He'd cried and screamed for days after that.

No, what really shook him was...he'd had that dream before. Back in the summer. It played out exactly the same way as it had before, right down to the smallest twitch of a jaw and pitch of a gasp. There were only a couple of differences, the most obvious one being that last time, he'd seen more of the fight that led to that moment, rather than having his attention drawn to a throne. The other was that last time, the dream had focused on the black haired girl capable of unleashing shadows on her enemies. This time, it focused on the Japanese boy with the eye...

"Oh Merlin!" His breathing stopped entirely as recognition kicked in, his whole body freezing. The Japanese boy from the dream, a dream he'd had months ago, looked exactly like the one he'd passed out trying to save. Then there was the stab wound, it was in the exact same place as that heavily bleeding wound hidden under his shirt...enough so to be life threatening!

He hadn't even finished the thought before he was up on his feet again, heading straight for the door as panic and concern fired a stream of questions in his head that he desperately needed answers to. Did help come in time? Did the guy make it? Would he be ok? Was his dream real? Was that a stab wound from a psychopath and if so, how did the boy survive that fall? The guy's accent was American in the dream, maybe he was like Perseus? Could he answer some of Perseus' questions about himself? Wait, the poor guy was seriously hurt, he really hoped that Madam Pomfrey was able to get to him in time. If he was like Perseus, she'd need all the time she could get just to fight through the resistance to witchcraft and wizardry.

Throwing the door open, he ran down the small hallway, but right before he could make it to the main one, a tall man stepped into his path. Unprepared for the sudden appearance, Perseus stumbled as he tried to pull himself to a stop, crying out as he sideswiped his shoulder against the wall. Taking advantage of it, he grabbed the a piece of the stone and forced himself into a stationary, upright position right at the feet of his interceptor.

"Ah, Perseus. I was just coming to check on you." Albus greeted, giving the boy a warm smile. "I wasn't expecting you to be up again until much later. You taxed yourself quite spectacularly this time. How are you feeling?"

"Albus, the guy I found!" Perseus exclaimed, blowing off the question entirely, his worried green eyes staring right in to Albus' twinkling blue ones. "Is he ok? Please tell me he'll be alright!"

"Why, of course." Dumbledore nodded, a light, slightly confused frown crossing his face. "Madam Pomfrey made quick work of patching him up and has already released him to his dorm."

"What?" Now Perseus was the one confused. That didn't make sense. The boy was actually a student here? But, outside his dreams, Perseus had never seen that guy in his life before today, of that he was sure. Granted, he didn't recognise nearly every student in these halls, but still. Then there was that wound. "What about that wound in his side? The large scale blood loss coming from it?" He asked, only growing more perplexed as the Dumbledore's own confused look failed to disappear. "It was massive, definitely would have required a replenishing potion to save him, and Poppy would never let a student leave until it had worked enough to ensure full health. I've seen her fuss like that over blood loss plenty of times before and no one had bled out as much as he had."

"Perseus, please calm yourself." Dumbledore said soothingly, placing a hand on his distressed charge's shoulder. "When the Merpeople started calling, I came and took the boy myself, and I assure you, his injuries..."

It was at that moment that Dumbledore's confusion disappeared, as did the twinkling in his eyes. Though the reassuring look never left his face, Perseus had grown well adept in noticing the altered state of his eyes as they turned calculating. He said nothing as he watched his guardian connect unseen dots and document mental notes and details previously untouched at speeds that would make Perseus' head spin. It only took him a moment to go through only Gods knew how much information before his full attention was once again on Perseus.

"I assure you Perseus, your new friend is fine. Though, do not think for a moment that I won't be checking up on him tonight as well. I do still need to get the full story of what happened after all." He added as his face, though still bearing a warm smile, quickly developed a more firm look to it. "You may speak to him at breakfast tomorrow. But for now, it is rather late and you still need to rest. I shall call a House elf to bring you some food, Merlin knows you will need it after today's stunt and a missed meal. Now, off you trot."

"But I..." Perseus started, only to stop as Dumbledore raised an eyebrow, his face turning unyielding. Sighing in defeat, Perseus just nodded his head and turned back the way he came. There was simply no getting around Dumbledore once he got like that, at least, not while he was watching you and Perseus knew immediately that his room was probably going to be watched by someone or other for the rest of the night. Besides, now that he knew that the guy was alive and well, the adrenaline was fading and was feeling the lethargy again. Rest and food would do him good. He'd just have to track the guy down tomorrow. How hard could it be? "Goodnight, Albus."

"Goodnight my boy." Dumbledore replied fondly as he reached his room. Closing the door behind him, he sighed again before flopping down on the bed, content with not moving until food arrived. All his energy was much better spent on everything in his buzzing head.

Something was seriously off. If Albus was the one to drag them out of the water, then he would know better than Perseus just how deadly that side wound was. He would have spent plenty of time emphasising that the guy would be ok. And Poppy frets like crazy over the shivers, she wouldn't let such a wounded patient out of her sight until she'd repeatedly ensured that he was in absolutely perfect health. The way Albus acted for the second half of their conversation made it all too obvious that he'd noticed something off too, though just what possible conclusions he'd come to theorise was anyone's guess.

Someone or something was messing with people's memories. And that person was actually powerful enough, skilled enough and crafty enough to do it to Albus Dumbledore of all people! Now that was a scary thought. Especially with Voldemort back. And that only brought rise to an even more troubling question: if it was performed by a Death Eater or ally and they were using it to make a teenager disappear after he was so badly hurt, what had he stumbled on so close to Hogwarts of all places that had them so keen to make him disappear?

Or was it the boy himself that made this happen? After all, if Perseus was right, and the boy was from his homeland, he could have any number of strange powers. His dreams had shown plenty of different abilities in people, all of them looking as human as he himself. Could memory manipulation be one of them?

"Uuuggh! Too many questions!" Turning onto his back as he groaned, Perseus alternated his glare back and forth between the ceiling and the floor. "And when's that food going to get here? Did Pop's forget to make the call or did the elves finally learn how to be lazy?"

...

The speed of which Albus was reaching would have left just about anyone he left in his wake astonished even if he wasn't an old man as he practically glided down the halls. Yet, as he made his way to the Hospital Wing, his brain was processing even faster.

Nothing like this had ever happened before. He'd practically flown to the lake when the screeches and wails echoed through the halls, bringing mass panic from the students and teachers alike. This had never once happened in the history of Hogwarts and there was only one possibility in his mind as to why it would happen now: something horrible had happened to Perseus.

However, when he got there, second only to Hagrid, it wasn't Perseus that was in serious condition, but a another young man. He'd seen just how bad his wounds were. He'd had to cast a few spells just to stablise him before he could take him inside. And yet, he'd forgotten all of it. The worst, life threatening wounds the boy had were made to look minor in his memory and he was released to his dorm. Something that his mind had deemed fine before, but now...

Reaching his destination, Albus practically threw the door open, unleashing a resounding bang upon the few students within and causing a few startled jumps and screams in response. Still, those were nothing to the very irate healer storming out of her office.

"Headmaster, what do you think you are doing?" She hadn't even reached him before she started scolding, narrowing a fierce glare right at his eyes. "This is a medical wing and the students here need rest! Such a dramatic entrance could have caused increase severity to injuries or worse! You of all people should know better!"

"I apologise Poppy, but this is urgent business. I must speak to you at once." Albus replied, not slowing his own pace in the slightest as he reached her and pressed on to her office. A slight, irritated growl left her throat at that, however, she followed him immediately. If he was in need of her, then this about a medical issue and she would never turned away from those. Besides, at least he was leading her back to her office, freeing her patients from any further interruptions.

Closing the door behind her, Poppy immediately gave Albus a once over for any sign of sickness or injury before giving him a demanding look. "What is this about, Headmaster?"

"I need to speak to you of the boy I brought in with Perseus this afternoon." Albus answered, taking a seat and encouraging her to do the same.

That response was clearly not what she'd expected. Conceding to his implication, she sat down at her desk, all the while staring at him with an incredulous look and a raised eyebrow. "Why are you asking me about him? Excluding the long missing eye, every wound on his body was minor and quick to heal. Yes, there was one wound that was a little deeper than the average injury, but even that was resolved quickly and easily. He was barely wounded enough to be worth bringing here."

Dumbledore's frown only grew the more he listened. He knew, of course, that her memory must have been altered too, the boy may very well be tied to a bed for trying to escape otherwise, but it was no less a troubling confirmation.

The question was how to undo what has been done. In Albus' case, hearing the truth from Perseus had helped, but so had a little Legimency, a magic Poppy had never touched. The spell could be reversed, but that would require knowledge of the spell performed, something Albus couldn't guarantee he knew. All the different methods he knew made you forget facts or entire moments, not alter them to look like something else. The fake memories depicted a boy who was a little cut up here and there, but mostly ok, while his true, resurfaced memories told a tale of a boy who looked like someone had tried to kill him and was deathly pale from blood loss. The two images were too similar for a spell taking pieces of memory and too focused on the boy for a distraction orientated spell.

Placing his hands together, Albus spent but a moment contemplating how to proceed before deciding the direct approach would have to do. It helped him start to see pass the illusion, hopefully enough time and focus could get Poppy all the way through on its own.

"Madam Pomfrey, I regret to inform you that you are much mistaken." He started, immediately raising his hand as her face turned offended and her mouth opened the rant and rave again. "I have no doubts in your abilities Poppy, but I can assure you that you have become confused. When I found the boy, he was in a simply dreadful condition. I had to stop the blood loss before I could even bring him to you or he'd have died."

"Come now Albus, do you really believe that I would let him leave so much as his bed if he were in such a condition?" Poppy snapped, waving out at the infirmary. "The boy was fine. I mean yes, when I first saw him-"

"Focus on that moment, Poppy." Albus butted in, staring sharply into her eyes. "Concentrate on that first moment when I brought the boy in. How did he look. That wound in his side, above his hip. Did that not seem troubling to you?"

"Well of course it looked troubling to me!" Poppy cried as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "The boy's others wounds looked like claw scratches and falling related accidents, but that side one was an old, reopened sta..."

"Like an old what, Poppy?" Albus asked slowly, watching her intently. Her mouth was still open as what she'd been saying truly registered with her mind. It was only a second later that she paled considerably, her breathing growing deeper as disbelief and horror flooded her eyes.

Poppy didn't answer. Instead, she practically threw herself at her file draw and almost ripped the folders to shreds as she looked through them until she found the boy's. It had no name on it at all, another flag going up in both of their minds as they took note of that. A young man so old should have already had a file with her by now, every student did.

Placing it on the desk, she quickly opened it and looked down at the report, Dumbledore reading it along with her.

"Here it is, in the first log." Poppy stated softly, her voice trembling a little as she pointed out the line. "The worst wound was a lot older than the others, one that had been well into healing, but had been reopened. It showed signs of being deeper when it first happened. It was...it was clearly a stab wound, one most likely made by either ragged metal or broken glass."

"An attempt to kill him." Dumbledore mused, all to knowingly, skimming further down the page. "Your next note states that his body didn't respond to treatment as well as he should." He prompted, hoping to push her along. She'd started breaking through the false memories, with any luck, she could do it completely. Poppy was the only one with him the whole time the boy had been here and was therefore his only chance of getting enough answers to track the boy down.

"Yes, yes it did resist my methods a bit." Poppy nodded, her frown only growing deeper and more filled with dread as she thought it over. "I think...at first, it was a little like trying to cast charms on Perseus, but his system gave into my spells much more easily. Still, it was a challenge. He responded to the blood replenishing potion just fine though. But that stab wound, it was a nightmare! I don't think I even...oh Merlin!"

"What is it, Poppy?" Albus asked, immediately standing up and rubbing her back as the healer started hyperventilating. "What happened? Please, you must calm down and tell me."

"I never managed to fully heal it." Poppy cried, staring up at the old man wildly. "It resisted every attempt to close it. It got smaller, but I never managed to heal it. He's currently running around, freed from my care and with a report claiming he's perfectly fine with a wound in his side that's not only still in bad condition, but could easily be completely reopened again by any sudden, sharp action. We have to find him, Albus!"

"Yes. But for that, we must determine how our memories were altered and how he left." Dumbledore declared, turning his attention back to the report. Or, more accurately, the last paragraph. "You were the only adult watching him up until the moment the abnormalities kicked in. Try to concentrate, Poppy. What happened right before your perception was altered?"

"Hmm." Resting her chin on her hand, Madam Pomfrey stared down at the table, tapping her free hand's fingers upon it. Albus got no answer for a while, but considering she was still panicking over the boy's wellbeing and her own self-perceived failure, he was willing to be patient. It wasn't until many deep breaths later and almost setting the table on fire with her eyes that she finally looked back up. "My memory might still be failing me, but I don't think there was much to say. I remember forcing the Blood Replenishing Potion down his throat before returning to trying to seal the stab wound. It was going really slowly. Then there was a fluttering around me, curtains and bed sheets suddenly all getting moved by a wind I couldn't feel. I looked around to find all the windows still shut and when I looked back down, the wound appeared to be healing much faster. After that, everything I did was in accordance to the...false memories." She finished, worry and self directed anger returning to her voice.

"I see." Albus sighed disappointedly, staring down at his hands. It appeared that Poppy couldn't be the help he had hoped for after all. All she had really done was confirm a few suspicions. "It appears that seeking him out will be just as difficult as I imagined."

"But we do have to find him!" Madam Pomfrey exclaimed, directing desperate eyes on him. "He's still hurt and we don't know what harmed him! I spent so much time on his wound and blood that I hadn't even checked for infections or invading substances. He could easily end up sick or worse."

"Yes, I know. And I shall." Dumbledore nodded. "Do not worry Poppy. Whatever has happened and however it occurred, it's not your fault and I will get to the bottom of it. Now, do try to rest. You have plenty of sick students already who may need you at any time. I will handle our missing one."

"Keep me informed, Albus." Madam Pomfrey called as the Headmaster turned to the door. "And send him straight to me when you find him."

"Of course, Poppy. Rest well." Albus responded before quickly and silently making his way out of the Hospital Wing. He only waited long enough until he was moving back out into the empty hallways before he let a long, groan leave his lips.

He did know the boy's face. However, it wasn't from Hogwarts, where he could take one look at any student and tell you their name, House and age, but from Perseus' mind. Perseus' dreams and nightmares had always seemed so real and distressing for the boy that Albus had always been suspicious of them. This only increased dramatically over the last few years, with each one seeming connected to a story that Perseus didn't know. Albus found it all so intriguing and concerning that he'd taken to seeing snippets of them himself with his Legimency. He'd come to suspect that they were prophetic in some way.

This boy had been in one of those dreams. A violent one. And now he was here in Hogwarts, after being violently wounded, only to disappear.

Perseus' dreams never spoke of the Wizarding World until very recently. Dumbledore was confident that they told of the lives of his own kind, something only emphasised by their American accents, something that he heard so frequently that Perseus had managed to develop an American accent of his own, rather than take on a British one.

So to sum everything up, he was dealing with a mystery man, depicted in dreams set in America of their water wielding, human hybrid, who was resistant to spells and charms and could either alter memories or was tracked down by someone who could. He had also been attacked, seemingly both by beasts and man.

All of this led to a very big possibility, one that Dumbledore couldn't help but be irritated at. With Voldemort's return and the Ministry's less than pleasant reaction, the last thing he needed was for such another, dangerous possibility to come into play.

However, whether he liked it or not, he had to face the possibility and prepare carefully. For there was a great chance that a shadow had just come from Perseus' home.

And if that was true, and not handled correctly, then the coming war with Voldemort may not even be the biggest of their worries.

...

Meanwhile, the boy in question was stumped by some unexpected circumstances of his own. Though that was nothing new for him. He'd lived with constant difficult and bizarre turns of events for most of his life.

Still, this day was proving to be a particularly interesting one. Stumbling upon a village in the middle of nowhere after being lost for a week, getting chased by more monsters than he ever had since coming to this country, almost dying at the hands of a giant spider and finding a guy who could move water with a wave of his hand was...well that part was kind of normal for the life of a Demigod. It was what happened after that had left him lost.

After all, it was hardly every day that you were forced awake by someone shoving nectar down your throat and dragging you out of the infirmary before you'd fully healed.

"Would you hold still!" Snapped his abductor, sparing just a second to glare up at him before turning back down to his work. The injured both simply grunted in response, leaning against the wall for support as he stared down unimpressed at the guy kneeling before him. "I'm _trying _to actually help you here."

"If you're gonna complain about doing this so much, then maybe you should have left me with the medic." Was his sarcastic response, only to hiss in pain a moment later as a hand slapped his still healing stab wound.

"You think I'd be doing you any favours if I didn't have too? I only have so much nectar and ambrosia." The brunette grunted, huffing as he finally finished wrapping the bandage. Pulling a little at it one last time to ensure it would stay on his waist, he rose back to his feet and scowled. "I didn't have much of a choice, Ethan. Not if I want to keep what little I've regained."

Ethan just stared at that, not sure how to respond. The image before him just didn't seem right. Not for the man standing there.

He knew exactly who he was. Alabaster Torrington, son of Hecate. He'd gained quite the reputation throughout the Titan army. No Demigod amongst them was more powerful or more driven to fight. He could have easily become Kronos' right hand man if he'd wanted to, but Alabaster only saw the Titan the way Kronos saw Demigods, as a means to an end. He only cared about the Demigods who'd joined their side, to whom he was very loyal and protective. He always had his mind set on what he was going to do and no force was ever going to stop him. He was fierce and determined, nothing was allowed to stop him. Ethan's mother had loved him, he was the perfect warrior of vengeance.

But he didn't seem that way anymore. Sure, there was still more than a spark of vengeance in him, Ethan could sense it, but it was well suppressed. Alabaster wasn't acting on a desire for revenge. He was acting out of fear and desperation and that was something no one ever expect to see coming from him. It was more than a little unnerving.

"What do you mean exactly?" Ethan asked slowly. "How could I cause you to lose something? I didn't even know you were here."

"You're a Demigod who's been thrown into the spotlight at a wizard's school. Let's start with that!" Alabaster exclaimed as if it was the most obvious thing in the world with a look that questioned Ethan's intellect.

Well, that was all it took to make Ethan turn pale all over again. "A wizard's school? You can't be serious." His heart beating erratically, he whipped his head in all directions, straining his senses for all they were worth, for even the slightest hint of the enemy.

"What, you actually didn't know?" Alabaster scoffed, rolling his eyes upward. "How the Hades did you even manage to get here and if you don't even know where here is?"

"Well, after a lot of problems, including crossing continents to avoid the wrath of testy Gods, I got lost, kept running through the wilderness and eventually decided that I'd had enough bad luck befall me to make using my power an acceptable risk!" Ethan replied, starting to hyperventilate. "Though clearly, the scales weren't even close to balanced, if I somehow deserve this much misfortune! Of all the things my power could lead me to, it chose a wizard settlement!"

"I'm not so sure about that. After all, if Perseus hadn't found you, you'd be dead by now." Well, that was true. He remembered his last moments before passing out. Being chased by an Acromantula, his side reopening and a boy wielding water saving him. "Which brings us to the next problem I have with your appearance. You got the attention of Perseus."

"And that's significant how?" Ethan asked, well and truly confused? What did it matter which particular wizard had seen him? Alabaster's Mist trick would have neutralised the issue anyway by now.

"Because Perseus is a Demigod who doesn't know he's a Demigod and I really want to keep it that way." Well, that little declaration actually stunned Ethan so much that his panic stilled.

"There is a Demigod...living with wizards...and you want to leave him in the dark?" Ethan asked, trying and failing to wrap his head around it. "Are you nuts? I mean, the level of danger he's in, that we're all in, just being here-"

"Do you really think, for one second, that I would stay or let him stay, if I thought that he was in any real danger?" Alabaster snapped, his glare effectively shutting Ethan up. "The wizards don't even seem to know our kind exists anymore, the arrogant idiots. My mother probably had something to do with that. They don't know what Perseus is, only that he's from the 'Forbidden Lands', a half human hybrid of unknown origin, and that he has strong, unusual powers mostly associated with water and earthquakes. He's been raised in this castle his whole life by the teachers, most of whom adore him. So do plenty of students. Assuming some political bitch and you don't mess it up for him, he's perfectly safe here. As long as no one finds out what he is."

"And what about you?" Ethan asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm a son of Hecate! I have masterful use of the Mist! Only Perseus even knows I'm here."

"I meant, why are you taking the risk at all? What's there to gain?" There had to be a good reason. Even a child of Hecate simply didn't knowingly associate with these people unless it was to find a sibling who's species had been mistaken. For Alabaster to even consider coming here, there had to be a prize he'd come looking for.

"Protection." Alabaster answered, scowling at the ground. "I'm banished from every one and every place under the Gods' rule, I couldn't go back to the safety of Camp Halfblood even if I wanted too and the no killing allies rule within the Titan Army is no longer applicable. I have no allies and every monster that sees me is out for my blood. But this place is well outside the Gods' rein and gained some of its protection from my long dead siblings using spells no one remembers. It's enough to block most monsters and my powers let me hide amongst the wizards without issue. Assuming, of course, that another Demigod doesn't draw their attention back to our kind's existence." He finished, eyes piercing Ethan accusingly.

"Doesn't Perseus do that?" Ethan retorted challengingly.

"No, he was found as a baby with no clues to his ancestry. You, on the other hand , are a teenage trespasser with all the knowledge in the world about our kind who had himself almost literally under a microscope." Alabaster growled back.

"Not my best day." He admitted, holding his arms up in defeat. Alabaster had a point, that couldn't be denied. Once they healed him, they would have asked questions with...tricky answers, a situation best avoided for everyone's sakes. "So what now? You show me the door?"

"If I was going to do that, then I'd never have bothered wasting Nectar on you. "Alabaster scowled before stepping away with a huff. Turning his back to the son of Nemesis, he leaned his hands on the window sill and sighed, staring out at the night sky. He wasn't really sure what to do with Ethan. He never once imagined this situation ever occurring. But now that it had, Ethan would either be exposed, leave and most likely die or both. And contraire to popular belief, Alabaster actually really cared about Demigods in general. It was only the sheep jumping like idiots at the Olympians' whim that he had issues with. He wasn't about to abandon Ethan. "So," He called over his shoulder, his voice noticeably less aggressive than before. "You were banished too?"

"More like, everyone thinks I'm dead and I really don't want them to realise that I'm alive so the Gods don't actually kill me." Ethan sighed, sinking down the wall. "The Olympians would probably kill or banish me for being a member of the Titan Army and the Titan Army would probably kill me, well, to eat, or for revenge for being the traitor that struck Kronos. I'm sure that ended up getting out."

"You attacked the King of the Titans?" Alabaster cried as he whipped back around, flabbergasted.

"Yep, right at the end, not that it did much. Saved Di Angelo and got stabbed and tossed down the mountain for it. By some lucky break, I managed to snag a few boulders sticking out and force myself up on one right before rock turned to sky and a tower below." He nodded, unconsciously rubbing his side as he developed a challenging glare of his own. "I decided in the end that Kronos would never be good to our kind once our usefulness had ended. Have a problem with that?"

"You bet your ass I do, but...what's done is done." Was his only response, though it was grudgingly admitted and not without plenty of irritation. "And you are right. I was hoping he'd be wasted by the end of it myself. But seriously, you couldn't let him and the Olympians toast each other?"

"That wasn't exactly an option." Ethan chuckled a little, letting the tension fade as he noted the lack of deadly magic coming his way.

"And now you're without a friend in the world, a place to call home and an unspeakable number of monsters, Gods and Titans who'd love nothing more than to slaughter you if they find out what you did and that you're still alive." Alabaster grumbled, more to himself than his companion.

"That about sums it up." Ethan nodded forlornly.

"Well then, there's only one thing for me to do then, isn't there?"

Moving back toward the suddenly defensive Ethan, Alabaster bent down and threw both hands at his chest. One simply held the panicked Asian in place while the other stopped just before his heart.

"What are you-"

"Would you settle down and shut up? This takes focus!" Alabaster snapped, not even sparing the scared Ethan a glance, keeping his focus completely on his free hand. Mist gathered around his palm only for a second before it imploded, cool air dancing all over Ethan. It only lasted for a moment before it disappeared, leaving no hint of it behind except for a scared and very confused Demigod.

"It's a simple spell I used to sneak Demigods from our side in through the enemy ranks all the time in the war." Alabaster explained, rising back to his feet and pulling Ethan up with him. "Basically, it's an enhancement version of the normal way the mist works for us. It will allow you to blend into the crowd here. As long as you don't do anything to draw attention to yourself, none of the wizards will question your presence."

"So then...I can..."

"Stay within the castle's walls and you shouldn't have any trouble with the monsters." Alabaster stated as Ethan stared at him with bewilderment. "Feel free to stay as long as you want. There are just two conditions. Don't do anything to blow our cover and don't tell Perseus anything about Demigods or our world. He'll be able to see you. Be careful of what you say to him. Make sure you know enough around here to convince him that you're just a student."

Alabaster gave him one final, firm look before turning and walking away. He'd done enough for Ethan to keep him safe for now. He didn't feel any obligation to do any more. Not for a guy who, though indirectly, was partly responsible for the life Alabaster was now forced to live.

Luckily for Ethan, as long as the guy stuck to the rules he'd set, his life wasn't nearly as bad as he'd once thought.

* * *

**AN:** Hey everyone, just quickly saying thanks for the reviews and whatnot. I'm very happy that this story is being so well received. Also, I hope this chapter has answered a few questions anyone might have about the changes at Camp Half Blood and their history well enough for now. If not, don't worry, it'll be explained in much more detail in later chapters. You'll know when that's coming, trust me.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Flinching with every step as they echoed down the hall, Ethan gave up entirely on stealth and floored it, swinging himself around the corner. He had no idea where he was going and his wound was threatening to open up again, but he didn't care. All that mattered was getting away.

_'How does that crazy, old man do it anyway?'_ He thought wildly, turning into the moving stairway. His heart hitching as the stairs before him started shifting, he forced himself to go faster and dived at them, crashing into the edge with a groan right as it picked up speed. Breathing deeply, he ignored the pain completely and forced himself to drag himself upward, bringing up his hanging leg before the last step met stone again. Feeling safe, if only for a moment, he pulled himself into a sitting position and let himself catch his breath as he checked his side, sighing in relief at the lack of blood. He was lucky he'd landed on his other side. If his old wound had made contact with the ragged stone, he'd probably be bleeding out all over again.

_'And the last thing I need is a reason to be pinned down in one place again.'_ Gritting his teeth, he ignored the sharp surge of pain and lethargy his day had left him with and pulled himself to his feet before continuing on his way up. He could only hope he made it up and beyond into another corridor before he was found again.

_'If I didn't know better, I'd think Alabaster was trying to get me caught!' _Ethan scowled, not letting himself feel any relief as he successfully made it through the next doorway unnoticed. He could feel a little hopeful again when he'd found a crowd, any crowd. If he kept his hood up, there was less chance of being noticed again. At least then Alabaster's magic could do its job a bit better.

"Not that it matters if that wannabe Merlin shows up again." He grunted before forcing himself silent and his eye shut, trying to hear out a target. "You'd think that he'd go rest his aching bones by now!"

He'd been struggling with the old man pretty much all damn day! At first he'd done fine. Though he'd been wary of it, he casually joined group after group of teenage wizards and not one of them said a word about it. In fact, he blended in with them so well that he could declare himself one of their best friends and they'd believe it, so long as he laughed or sneered at the right times. The adults didn't seem to feel anything was amiss either for the most part. It seemed that they simply treated him the way they'd treat those around him without any notice of an extra person. Only the oily haired creep in the dungeons and the old, shapeshifting woman gave him so much as a second look and even they seemed to shake it off after a few heart stopping moments. Yes, he was opting to steer clear of those two from now on, but there hadn't been any real issue.

Except for the old man. Professor Dumbledore. That guy was trouble.

It had started between the first two classes. He'd been walking the halls amongst a group with the badger badge on their chests, like the one on the robes he'd stolen, when he'd first come across the man. He'd barely noticed him at first, he was off to the side and moving in another direction. It was only the simple fact that there was someone looking so different from everyone else that had him noting the man in the corner of his eye at all. However, the moment he did, his blood ran cold. The man had noticed him and his eyes were sharp, unyielding. He didn't need to take in the fact that the guy had altered his path or that he was moving quickly, purposefully. The eyes alone did it. Everyone else who'd looked right at him quickly grew distracted by what was around them or glazed a little. Not even the close encounter with the teacher in the dungeons looked at him like an eagle focusing in on its prey.

He'd acted quickly and casually moved into a bigger crowd, letting himself get lost in the masses before turning into another random direction. Fortunately for him, he'd been at a busy intersection and the uniforms made disappearing into the black sea a cinch. However, it just kept happening. He didn't know if the old coot had some magical ability or if he was drawn to the eye patch, but Dumbledore noticed him again and again, coming after him every time. In the masses in the Great Hall during lunch, in the hallways, out on the grounds, in a classroom once, if they ended up in the same place then Dumbledore's eyes would seek him out and lock on to him like a bloodhound. Once or twice, it even started stirring another teacher out of the spell's grasp for a moment before he'd bolted.

It had only gotten more difficult to avoid him since the sun went down. Forgoing dinner, Ethan put all the distance between himself and the Great Hall he could the moment the sun began to set, but it still wasn't enough. Too few were travelling the corridors anymore and it was clear that Dumbledore was far from giving up. On the contrary, he seemed to have doubled his efforts and showed no signs of tiring. Ethan had already ditched him five times since the sun went down, if you could call it ditching when the old guy always seemed to be within five hundred feet of him. Just as soon as he was sure he'd lost the old man, he showed up again around the next corner.

"Come on, why can't I find anyone? This is a school filled with _teenagers_ using _magic_!" If that wasn't a recipe for rebellion and broken curfews, Ethan had no idea what was. It wasn't like there were any man-eating harpies roaming the halls after hours, just cranky teachers and a few snooty, serpent crested jerks with extra, flashy badges. Even those Slytherins or whatever they called themselves would do as long as two or more were together. Torrington's spell would have plenty to work with and his echoing footsteps would just mix with theirs. He could strut around like he owned the place as long as the old man never saw his face.

Straining his ears he listened for even the slightest hint of people, tensing as a single, familiar light pair of footsteps reached him. Dumbledore had definitely seen his stunt at the stairs and probably commanded the stupid things to move back for him. Still, he made himself ignore it for the moment. They were still a bit off and in the other direction...yes! Four sets of feet heading the same way. Perfect.

Hugging the shadows against the wall and desperately hoping that the moving portraits wouldn't sell him out to the old man, an act he partly believed they'd been doing all day and partly wondered, and hoping, if they too were being affecting by Torrington's magic, he ran straight for the end of the hall, taking as much care with his speed and timing as he could and actually grinning as he made it, turning the corner right as the four eagle crested student met his corridor and fell into step with them. He was a little thrown off as all four of them, one girl and three boys, all flung their heads around to him, their bodies tensing as if they'd been caught stealing, but everyone involved quickly relaxed and moved on a moment later. Ethan nearly collapsed as the panic and stress poured out of him. He didn't care who they were or what they were doing, he just lifted his hood over his head and followed along, taking care to keep himself closer to the Indian girl, lessening the attention drawn to any of his own revealed skin colouring.

"I wonder what's planned tonight? I'm hoping for reflex practice myself." A boy with ear length brown hair asked, his excitement shining through his hushed voiced.

"If anyone knew, it would be you, Michael." Another rolled his eyes, this one a bit taller with short, curly, dark hair. "You're the one dating the teacher's surrogate little sister."

"Come on Terry, you know I've tried that route before. She doesn't know any more about the lesson plans than we do."

"I might know more." The girl responded with a smug smile. "Judging from the pattern we've been following, I predict that tonight we might try one new spell before the pairs are told to practice blocking and dodging tactics against every spell Potter's taught us."

"We'll find out when we get there." The last one muttered, a blond boy looking far more nervous than his friends, his eyes forever looking over every corner or possible hiding place. "We're very much in public right now. Stopping talking before you draw unwanted attention."

"Don't worry so much Anthony. There's no one here but us."

Ethan had to admit, there was a little intrigue within him, hidden by his own caution. He wasn't paying much attention to what they were saying or where they were going as he watched out for the old man, but what he did catch was still interesting. Secret lessons? Combat training that, judging by their actions, even the teachers didn't know about? Huh, it was starting to sound a little like home. And maybe it could be used to his advantage. If most teachers weren't involved, then maybe he could hide out from the Headmaster there. The way the blond worried, Ethan was willing to bet that he wasn't in on it either, in which case, either these guys could hide him away or he could use whatever they were doing as a distraction to get away should they be caught. It was definitely worth a shot.

...

Taking care to keep a relaxed pace, Perseus grinned as he made it to the seventh floor. Admittedly it was a little hard, he wasn't used to having to force himself to look casual when he was excited. But this was for the one secret he had from Dumbledore and the rest of the staff and it wasn't his secret to tell, so if he wanted in he had to it tune down. After all, a lot of his friends could get expelled if the toad found out. They could probably get in a lot of trouble no matter which adult found out.

After all, who ever heard of a school that would deem an unsupervised duelling club as acceptable?

Passing the ugly portrait of a guy trying to teach trolls ballet, he finally gave in and jogged the rest of the way, reaching the place just in time to watch a blank wall turn into a door before a small group of teenagers.

"Hey Harry." Startled, Harry whipped around just as Perseus practically bounded to his side, beaming at the bespectacled, little delinquent. "So I take it that I'm not late tonight?"

"How did you even figure out what we do or when we'd meet?" Harry replied, thoroughly baffled. "You don't even have one of our coins."

"And if someone was telling you, we'd know about it. I made sure of that." Hermione added, looking just as incredulous.

"I have my ways." Perseus shrugged, his smile turning mischievous as he opened the door and led them inside. "For example, this time I got the answer from a thestral. I asked him to get the time from the coin Neville was fiddling with in your last Care of Magical Creatures class. Getting the information's easy if you know where to look."

"Why am I not surprised that Neville's involved." Ron groaned, moving to shut the door only for another three Gryffindors to rush in. "We're going to have a word with him. He's risking our secret."

"Nah, he's not. I only know where to look because I was already in on the secret and had help from a horse. This time." Perseus shook his head, taking a seat on one of the comfy cushions and nodding a happy hello to the Creevy brothers. "Who else will know to look out for a coin, even if you did know that Neville was involved in this? Besides, I've only used Neville once. I've snuck the info from you three plenty of times, I just didn't show up." He couldn't have stopped the laughter spilling from his mouth if he tried as all three members of the Golden Trio turned gobsmacked or spluttered at that.

"Bloody hell! Why don't we ever use him to snoop out information?" Ron cried, turning to the others and stunning the just arriving group of Hufflepuffs.

"Because he's only good with people he knows and only a few steps ahead of illiterate?" Hermione responded, the unsaid 'duh' screaming for attention across her face. "What good would he be with a new teacher, a diary, a convict we'd never seen and an impersonator?"

"He could have helped cut down the number of possible Heirs of Slytherin."

"_He's_ sitting right here and told you straight up that Malfoy was far too dumb and smug to be pulling off that heir crap." Perseus butted in annoyedly, pointing to himself and drawing sheepish looks from the quarrelling duo.

"I'm sorry, Perseus. I didn't mean that how it sounded." Hermione said regretfully, biting her lip as she turned to him.

"It's all good. Now, what are you doing tonight?" Shrugging it off, Perseus quickly turned keen again as he eyed everyone in the room, which was quickly filling up, before landing his vision on Harry. He was hoping for something exciting. He needed it after the day he'd had. He'd spent the whole thing looking for the injured, disappearing boy only to come up completely empty handed. Dumbledore hadn't managed to pin him down either, as strange as that sounded, and while he assured Perseus that was going to keep looking, the water wielder had given up for the night. Dumbledore was already having the dorms checked after curfew and the castle was too big and too easy to hide in, especially when there wasn't a near constant bustle of teenagers running around to force an uprooting. Normally, it would be easy enough, you could just ask the portraits to sweep the place for an Asian boy with an eye patch, it wasn't like that was all too common around here, but even they seemed affected by whatever trick the guy was using. Hell, he might have just taken off the eye patch, who says he still needed it?

He'd keep looking tomorrow, but for now he needed a distraction. Something that the DA's members would be great at making.

"Well..." Harry started slowly, a small grin crossing his face even as he looked to the ceiling with the standard 'help me now' look on his face. "I've found a few simple jinxes that are quick to cast I want to teach, the kinds that disrupt your opponent, before working on reflexive use of spells with a little...freestyling." Even as he said it, his face crunched up with dread and defeat while Perseus' turned bright as a lighthouse.

"Oh God." Hermione groaned, though anyone could tell that she was trying very hard not to laugh. Perseus' hands were itching to go already.

"Freestyle, huh? Sweet." Perseus could totally take advantage of that. He couldn't wait. Something the Room of Requirement noted, apparently. For it was only a second later that some of the other DA members started groaning and laughing as they noted a small pond in the far corner.

...

It didn't take long for the Ravenclaws to reach their destination, though it did catch Ethan off guard. He'd ran by this corridor plenty of times in the last twenty four hours and he could tell you that there was no door there before. He'd know if it was there. The war had left him with a sharp eye for details and, more importantly, the place felt nuts. The sensation actually had him freezing for so long that he almost lost the group heading inside. The entire new room absolutely swelled with what could only be described as good fortune. It messed with his sense of balance like crazy, whatever it did, it came with no cost whatsoever. If his mother saw it, she'd probably blow it up in fury, declaring it a mockery to her.

Ethan wasn't sure how it left him feeling; disturbed and uncomfortable or relieved.

He didn't have much time to decide however, for the others had upped their pace in their eagerness to enter. Taking his situation into account, he made a split second decision to ignore his senses and follow them. If his mother found out he'd entered the place and did nothing to it, she'd probably kill him herself, but for now all he saw was a safe haven. He was deep behind enemy lines and being stalked by a wizard powerful and skilled enough to see through the spell of a child of Hecate, he could use some good fortune.

Putting on a grin with Terry as he closed the door behind him, Ethan moved his way around close to the wall, taking in the area. To be honest, he found himself both intrigued and unnerved. The room was large and most of it was fairly empty, containing only teenagers, cushions, mats and very little furniture. He guessed that made sense, it left plenty of space for combat training. There was a bookcase though, which from what Ethan could tell from a distance, was lined with old books with titles associated with dark magic and defensive guides. That was a weird feature to a combat training area to him, Demigods never used books for combat practice, they learned from each other, their trainers or in real combat. What felt even weirder to him was the utter lack of any weapons. There wasn't so much as a single knife in sight.

There was however, a few strange spinning tops sitting on tables, a creepy looking manikin in a corner and a giant mirror full of shadows floating around within. Ethan was quick to turn away from that, set on not going anywhere near it. It freaked him out a little too much.

He'd had more than enough contact with ghouls to last him a lifetime.

All that being said, when he turned to the students, not one of them was in any way bothered by the room's layout or features. A couple of them were even grabbing at the books, searching for certain pages and showing them to each other. Another seemed too tired of waiting and aimed her stick at the manikin before striking it with a red light and blowing it back. Now at least that was a familiar sight to Ethan. So it wasn't a manikin, but a training dummy meant to take magical attacks.

"Alright, I believe we're all here now." A voice cut through the babble, pulling Ethan's attention to the centre of the room, marvelling as everyone settled down and took a seat on a cushion. There in front of them was a boy that was at least two years younger than Ethan, maybe more, with messy black hair, bright green eyes behind glasses and a scar in the shape of a lightning bolt emblazoning his forehead.

Truth be told, that unsettled Ethan more than he'd like to admit. The guy was small and seemingly a little hesitant with his current position, but he also had this sense of power to him and the ability to gain the attention and cooperation of too many witches and wizards, some of them notably older than him. Even though he could push passed that first, instinctive fear that he was about to have them turn on him, silently thankful that Dumbledore was the only one defying Alabaster's spell, the sense of danger, the ease in this boy's authority, the power and the symbol on his head, all of it together put the image of Zeus into Ethan's mind. It was only for a moment, but it was more than enough to send shivers or terror down his spine.

"Alright everyone, I've got three quick and easy jinxes to teach you tonight. I know, I know," He called, waving his arms as some the others started frowning and showing signs of argument. "learning three spells in a couple of hours does seem like a lot, but I promise, this should be easy. They're very simple and very similar to some of the other jinxes we've covered in here in terms of wand movements and power. Hermione, Ron and I picked them up with only a few tries, I'm sure the rest of you will too. For example, we're starting off with the Hand-Lock Jinx. It's affect and casting is very similar to the Leg Locker Curse, only this one locks the fingers together and out flat. Which is great for you, because if your opponent can't grab or hold anything, what good are they in a fight?"

_'That would depend on who you're facing.'_ Ethan thought with a frown, even as the others looked over the spell with intrigue and excitement. _'I, for example, could still do plenty of damage.'_

As the lesson went on, the reason for the design of the room quickly became clear to the Demigod. Yes, this was definitely a combat class, led by a teenager teaching his classmates to survive war, but all they trained with was magic. Even their instructors, who, according to the pieces of information Ethan's ADHD had picked up on here and there, had taken on enemies and life threatening situations before, barely looked like they could even throw a punch and had yet to show even the slightest hint of knowing how to. These kids were highly over-reliant on their magic, all of which seemed to require the use of a wand. Ethan doubted they'd last two minutes in a fight without it.

It was foolish. Every Demigod had powers too, even if they were something as simple as some form of enhanced intellect, like wisdom or mechanics, but none, not even those born to the Big Three, were ever trained to rely so heavily on them. All of their powers came with great advantages if they were used right, but you would use up your strength far too quickly in a drawn out battle. On top of that, there is always a way around any kind of magic and situations where your powers may assist your enemy. There's always a weakness to your power, one that can be exploited. In the witches and wizards' case, an obvious one was their wands. Take them away and they become easy targets.

Especially since none of them looked like they even knew how to run. Some of them started taking off their outer robes as they rose to their feet and set themselves up for their new spell and all of them looked like the most exercise they saw was rushing to class. Which made them lucky that their classrooms were scattered all around the castle, for that was probably the only reason none of them were all that overweight.

"Hey, it's you!" Ethan almost screamed as that loud cry hit his ear. He could do nothing to stop his body from jumping though, whipping himself around to the left. He'd been so caught up watching the wizards that he hadn't even noticed anyone coming up beside him.

Silently cursing himself for it, he turned his attention to the happy, but anxious face before him and started cursing himself all over again.

_'Brilliant, Nakamura! Not only did you let yourself get snuck up on in a place filled with wizards, you locked yourself in a room with one of the two people that could ruin everything for you and Alabaster. Sheer brilliance!'_

"I've been looking for you all day! Are you alright? Where have you been? Why did you leave the Hospital Wing? Hell, how did you convince Madam Pomfrey to let you leave?" Imploring, sea green eyes staring into his, Perseus rattled off questions without pause, his voice only growing louder with each one. Quickly growing more and more nervous, Ethan quickly flickered his eye fearfully to the rest of the crowd, gaining a little comfort from the fact that none of them had noticed anything yet. Still, if the aquatic Demigod kept that up...well, there was only so much Alabaster's spell could do. For its best effort he needed to avoid drawing attention to himself. Someone yelling directly at him would have the opposite effect.

"Easy man, I'm ok. Really, look at me." He responded hastily, keeping his voice low and desperately hoping that Perseus would do the same. The others were starting to shout their incantations now, if Perseus quieted down, he should be ok. "I left the Hospital Wing because I'm fine. See?"

"How?" Perseus cried, completely oblivious to Ethan's attempts to quiet him down. "I saw your wounds! You're lucky to be alive. I'd be surprised if Madam Pomfrey let you go any time this month, forget in a few hours! That wound on your side, it was bleeding so much-"

"And now it's not, see?" Ethan butted in, hastily raising his shirt. Perseus' eyes immediately dropped to the bandage, Ethan's quickly following. He had to hold back his signs of relief at the lack of blood. After his activities getting there, it could look a lot worse.

Still, that didn't seem to satisfy Perseus as much as he'd hoped. Though the guy was definitely calming down a bit, perplexity was quickly taking up his concern's place as he frowned at the white material.

"That's not fully healed." He commented, bringing troubled eyes back up to Ethan's face. "That wound was bad. You lost a lot of blood. If Madam Pomfrey treated and released you, it should definitely be gone. She never lets you go after a situation half as bad as that until you're fully healed."

"It'll finish healing on its own and there wasn't any more she could do." Ethan was sure that he should just shut up. Everything he said and did only seemed to dig him a bigger hole. Apparently he'd said the wrong thing again somehow, because Perseus' frown only grew as he opened his mouth again. He had to beat him to it. He couldn't risk another question. "And I really wanted to get back to class. I'm behind as it is. I was told to take it easy, take a potion twice a day and to go back and get it checked daily, but other than that, I'm good as I'll get lying in a bed all day."

Perseus looked no less troubled, but he did calm down enough to get distracted by the cheers, groans and clattering coming from the wizards, if only for a moment. Still, Ethan counted that as a victory and took full advantage of the moment to calm his nerves. He needed to be careful with what he said. Alabaster made it clear, do not let Perseus in on anything. It was the only sure way to keep all three of them safe, as much as it stressed out Ethan. He had to set up a story, something believable, and for that he needed to think clearly.

"Do you know what happened when you left?" Perseus asked, this time much more quietly than before as the worried face turned back to him. "Albus, Dumbledore, whatever, he thought that your wound was minor, even though he saw it firsthand. I know for a fact that it wasn't. You almost bled out."

"What are you talking about?" Ethan asked, giving the water wielder his most baffled look. "Yeah, there were a few nasty looking wounds, but none of them all that deadly or anything. I don't think I'd be standing right now if they were." That was the only play he had. Alabaster had used the Mist to alter a few perceptions. Perseus wasn't going to give up on finding the truth all that easily, stubbornness ran in the Godly blood even more strongly than ADHD. He wasn't going to accept that he was mistaken and since Ethan was bound to keep tight lipped on the Demigod area, pretending to be ignorant was the only way to stop Perseus from being suspicious of him.

"You don't remember either?" Perseus groaned, throwing his head back. Ethan had to admit, he felt a little bad for lying. He owed Perseus his life. He seemed like a good guy, it wasn't fair to leave him struggling with this situation.

"Do you at least remember how you got that wound?" Perseus asked quickly, ripping his head back down and effectively unnerving Ethan with the sheer intensity and desperation being pointed is way. "Was it by any chance done by a sword? A...broken one maybe"

_'He's seen me.'_ Ethan's heart almost stopped at that one. He hadn't expect that at all. Just what he asked wasn't too surprising, the wound still had a blade's basic shape. If he saw it, then it was the most likely conclusion. However, not only had he asked if it was a broken sword at fault, but the tone his voice took, the hesitance it held, the uncertain gleam in his eyes, as if he was unsure he wanted to know the answer. Or rather, was unsure if he wanted his theory confirmed or denied. It could only mean one thing. Perseus had seen him in dreams.

It was certainly possible. All Demigods had them from time to time, especially when something big was going on. The Titan War was as big as it got and the moment that was supposed to be his last was actually a rather crucial one. But still, there so many major moments and Perseus was so far from their world, it was amazing that Perseus had seen his. The implications of such an event...

"Y-yeah, it was one actually." Ethan nodded, immediately stopping Perseus' breathing. He had to be honest, he'd failed to control his actions. That being said, he was not about to admit to the whole truth. "I was checking out the forest when I found this old, rusted blade missing its hilt. I fell on it when I was running from the spider. H-how did you know that?"

"I, uh..." With that lie, Perseus was reduced to a spluttering mess, his face quickly developing an embarrassed blush. If he wasn't hiding from them, Ethan might have actually given thanks to the Gods for that one. He knew Perseus was probably ready with reactions to the truth or an outright lie, but not for such a similar story. "I...saw the wound. It looked like something big and sharp did it."

"Well then, you have a good eye." Ethan wouldn't have believed that pathetic story for second even if he didn't know the truth, but he wasn't going to push it even for the sake of his charade. It was best to let that topic die. It was also best to start a new topic himself or Perseus might just break his ruse. "So, what brings you here anyway? I don't imagine there's much you could learn here."

"I can learn a bit actually." Perseus answered quickly, just as keen to change subjects as Ethan. Taking a seat on the cushion next to Ethan, Perseus let his eyes go back to the other teens, watching as lightning boy and a bushy haired girl went around tweaking people's stances or advising them on their incantations. The boy had to duck when the guy he was helping was blown away by his own dodgy spell. Ethan couldn't but smirk at that. "Some spells are more affective against me then others. Of course, the more power put behind the spell, the more effective it is, but some spells can still get through my resistance more easily than others. You know, the kind that work more on the world around me instead of on my body. Here, I thought I could learn more about the weaknesses to my resistance and learn to work around it. And in return, I could give the DA experience fighting a significantly stronger opponent. My power and resistance makes me the perfect Voldemort stand-in, don't you think?"

"I never thought of it that way." _'Especially since I don't know who that is.'_ He added mentally, though it was easy enough to get the gist of it. It took only a day to figure the situation. There was a bad guy about to start a war, the heads of the 'good guys' refused to acknowledge his return and the DA was a rebel group preparing for war anyway. Basically, it was exactly like the first stages of the Titan War, the Minister and his butt kissers were Zeus, The DA was the Demigods at Camp Half Blood and Voldemort must be the guy filling the position of Kronos.

"I'm guessing you're new to the group?" Perseus asked, turning his attention back to the Demigod as lightning boy finally managed to get his troubled student casting right. "I'm just guessing, I've never actually joined them before tonight, but you seemed to be hesitant to join the others...sorry, I haven't got your name yet." He added with a sheepish grin. "I probably should have asked for it before bombarding you, huh?"

"It's Ethan." The Asian smirked back. "And yeah, I'm a bit new. Terry and his friends brought me in."

"Well, it's good they still get new members here. But should you be here right now, with your injuries?"

"Hey, why should I miss the lesson? I can still watch and listen." Ethan shrugged. "Better to watch the basics now so I can pick it up quicker when I've healed, don't you think?"

"Oh yeah, good point." Perseus conceded, allowing Ethan to relax a bit as he finally let go of his concern. Falling into silence for a while, the pair of them just watched and listened to the rest of the crowd.

They sat like that for a while, the silence mostly broken by snickers and groans of sympathy as the wizards screwed up or cheers from Perseus as they got it right. He grew noticeably louder when a particular boy had success, Ethan noted, a more squeamish guy with dark hair and a lion crest on his chest. Neville, that's what everyone was calling him. Ethan should really pay more attention to the potential threats he'd surrounded himself with, especially if Perseus was going to keep paying attention to him. Not only was a weird or wrong answer going to risk Perseus discovering some of the truth, his presence drew the attention of others. Knowing a few names and tidbits would be the difference between success and exposure.

However, he was more interested in Perseus. The boy had a habit of drawing your attention even when he didn't intend to, whether it was due to his reactions to the others or his small interactions with Ethan. Some of it was clearly still concern based, as he kept looking his one eyed companion over, looking for signs of distress or pain, but he also freely offered smiles his way and a bit of commentary on his opinions of the spells being used and the people casting them. Just trying to keep it all interesting for the 'wounded wizard' and satisfy his own likely ADHD.

Sparing a glance at Perseus as the pairings started practicing on their old spells and reaction times, Ethan found that he couldn't help but grin a little. It had been a while since he'd had someone worry that much about him, let alone someone he actually felt safe and relaxed around. The constant stream of monsters around him and the near bloodthirsty nature of many Demigods among them had left him far to wary and distrusting to make any friends in the Titan Army and he'd felt too belittled beforehand in Camp Halfblood. The one guy he'd trusted had turned out being fine with him getting killed by a Cyclops in the labyrinth before surrendering his body to host Kronos himself, so saying that he was starved for care and affection was the understatement of the year. And yet here he was, fleeing from divine beings and hiding in amongst witches and wizards of all things, and he'd found someone who genuinely seemed to care about his wellbeing. He could see why Alabaster was so fond of the guy. He was like a breath of fresh air to a suffocating man, a thought that was only amplified by the fact that he smelled like the sea breeze.

"Ok everyone, I think we better get to the last event now, before Perseus floods us all." A voice called, snapping Ethan's confused face back and forth between the group and Perseus.

To be fair, a lot of the others looked to be pretty confused themselves, all of them quickly turning from the lightning bolt boy to the quiet Demigod. Ethan tensed as they stared at them, some of them almost demandingly, as if something was extremely off from the norm. Even bolt boy was doing it and it was starting to get bad.

There was no doubt in Ethan's mind that Perseus would have a reputation as impatient and wild. ADHD was almost guaranteed with every Demigod, though the level of intensity could vary. So naturally, if the spellcasters had just discovered that he was calm and patient, then of course they were going to want to know why. That level of focus moving to him was dangerous. If it didn't cease soon, someone was likely to see through the spell. Something that was only growing more emphasised as a few of those looks pointed at him were starting to grow more confused. One or two were even starting to turn suspicious.

Fortunately, Perseus was oblivious to it all and jumped right to his feet, beaming at the crowd. "Alright! Let's get this started."

Ethan could barely hold back the loud sigh of relief as everyone's attention immediately returned to their living enigma. As Perseus practically pounced at the middle of the room, sparing just enough time to send Ethan an excited grin, he sank the back of his shoulders against the wall and closed his eyes, trying to relax his body. Today had been too stressful already. He really couldn't take any more close calls.

"So Harry, any requests?" Perseus asked, practically bouncing on his feet. Any remaining confusion or concern was completely blown away at the sight. Now that they were separated, the Mist was back to doing its thing, so the idea that he'd just found a buddy to kill time with was perfectly acceptable to everyone around him. It was classic Perseus. Especially since the guy was so gung ho about joining in now.

"Multi-fire." Bolt boy, or rather Harry, answered immediately. "Small, fast streams coming from all directions. Your main targets will be me, Ron and Hermione. That sound cool to you?"

"Totally. Let's play." The maniacal gleam was obvious to Ethan even with his back turned to the child of balance with that tone in his voice. If there was ever any doubt of it, all one would have to do was look at the suddenly nervous, foreboding and horrified faces of Harry and the two beside him, no doubt Ron and Hermione.

"Right, well one moment please." Harry cried, growing a little panicked as the pool across the room started to bubble, before turning to everyone else. "Everyone else is going to protect us. Intercept the shots with whatever spells you can think of. If you get wet, you're out and will wait by the wall until we're done. If Ron, Hermione and I are all hit, then Perseus wins instantly. Now, since it's getting close to curfew, the game will be set for ten minutes. Everyone ready?"

"Yeah!" Everyone, bar Ethan, shouted, all of them looking just as keen as Perseus himself. The wizards were fast to form up. Ethan had to admit, he was impressed with that. The others had the main three targets well surrounded, but they had given each other plenty of breathing space, taking care not to hinder anyone's view of the battlefield and ensure everyone has the arms space for even the most dramatic of wand movements, all the while making sure that all the resulting gaps in one row around the trio were covered by the next. Credit had to be given for it, for where he came from, this level of organisation and teamwork was almost never seen outside groups of three to five. Even in the final days of the Titan War, unless the fighters were siblings or a pack animal, most of both armies just fought and tried not to get in each other's way. Nothing large scale was done this smoothly.

Something that was only reinforced the moment Harry said go. Immediately, water exploded from the pool in small balls and streams, curving, circling, rising and falling. When and where they were going to strike was completely unpredictable and yet, as the first ones turned in from three different directions and two different heights, the young wizards didn't even hesitate.

"Protego!"

"Reducto!"

"Depulso!"

Bright lights flashed everywhere, creating shields to block the streams, blowing water balls apart and redirecting them as another partner moved to evaporate them before they could come back. A red haired girl, Ginny if Ethan got the name right, had even taken advantage of the resulting distraction to fire a silent, red spell at Perseus. This group clearly trusted and practiced together a lot, for even as the rounds of attacks grew faster, more numerous and with less to no recovery time in between, most of them kept up very well. Even five minutes in, only seven had been hit out, none of them being the trio in the middle.

However, as impressive as it was, as wary as it made it him, it was Perseus who Ethan couldn't take his eye off. Perseus, on his own, his hands raised and forever shifting. Perseus, who was completely unphased even by the constant use of power. The boy who was currently riding water like a surfboard, effortlessly dodging every rushed spell sent his way without even the slightest twitch in his attacks and yet still looked to have energy to spare as he laughed his head off.

"That level of power." It was well beyond anything Ethan ever expected. He couldn't believe his eye. Here, hidden amongst witches and wizards, raised by them in the heart of their world, he'd found a Demigod. But not just any Demigod, but one of, if not the most powerful one alive. Ethan had long dropped his jaw, his throat going dry, but he didn't even notice. His mind had frozen, the shock and sheer disbelief was far too overwhelming.

"Of all the possibilities out there...I've found the son of Poseidon."

* * *

**AN:** Sorry about the delay everyone. My laptop threw a fit and had to go into the shop.

Thanks again everyone for the reviews and whatnot. I really appreciate them.

On that note, I am answering a few questions here. To a guest, yeah, Alabaster knows who's Perseus' dad is. As for the other one, since a review and a couple PM's asked similar questions, the only set pairing for this series right now is Solangelo and it may end up the only one of note. I usually only use pairings if it provides benefits to the plot, not just for the sake of romance. At the moment, platonic relationships provide that, so unless they feel like they're naturally evolving that way unintentionally, I'll probably leave them platonic.

Matt, sorry, I can't answer your questions because that's plot. I promise, it will be explained thoroughly further down the track. It'll make sense, don't worry.

Well, I think I covered everything. Thanks again everyone. See ya again probably on the 12th.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

_Pandemonium and catastrophe were the only words that could possibly describe the city. Wherever you looked, cars had crashed into each other or buildings. People were on the ground everywhere, all of them so still that they could pass for dead. It was only because of the few teenagers here and there, moving the bodies oh so carefully and checking the vitals of the more heavily injured that you could tell that they were still alive. Considering the numbers asleep and their situations, it looked as if the city's entire population had collapsed all at once, minus a few kids._

_That is, until the roars, screams, explosions and reverberating crashes exploded from all directions. _

_The situation changed so fast from then on that it was impossible to keep up. Magical creatures and monsters of shapes and sizes beyond the wildest of imaginations stormed the place in unfathomable numbers. Serpentine women smashed their way through buildings, dolphin men surged from the rivers, multiple creatures resembling different types of mutated, albeit shrimpy, giants crash through the streets behind charging, feral, oversized hounds. The skies were full of harpies and other gruesome creatures. There was even a hydra moving in quickly, surrounded by Cyclopes of all things._

_They were all over the place, coming from every direction, all of them causing mass damage and even eating the unconscious people while heading for the same location. A giant tower. A skyscraper deep within the concrete jungle. And amongst all of it, were the conscious teenagers, all of them decked in armour and swords, shield or bows and arrows, doing everything they could to fight the monsters coming for them. Many of them were dying in the process._

_Some of them even to other teenagers._

_Perseus could only watch, pale as a ghost and frozen in horror, unseen by all of those around him. The blood and carnage, the crumbling buildings and crushed cars, most with people still inside them, it was a scene right out of Hell from the get go. However, the closer he got the more he realised that not all the humans were on the same side. Many protecting the city or each other were being struck and cut down by other teenagers. Perseus wasn't sure what shook him more about this: the ones that charged each other with pure hate and malice or the ones that stared in fear and betrayal as a believed ally stabbed them in the back before leaving them helpless to the monsters tearing them apart._

_It was too much, far too much, there were so many screams, so much noise, that he couldn't make anything out. There was so much blood, so many people crashing to the ground and losing limbs, so much to see. The air itself felt so charged that his body felt like electricity was dancing all over him even before a lightning bolt struck the ground from the heavens, eliciting another chorus of screams, both of agony and fear, and the ground was shaking so hard that he was sure that it would collapse beneath him at any second. It was as if nature itself was encouraging this massacre, adding all its destructive power to the fray, though for which side, Perseus had no idea. Maybe it just wanted to destroy them all._

_"Yes, it could be taken that way." A voice mused, her strong, clear voice cutting right over the everything else and startling Perseus so much that he almost jumped right out of his shoes. Whipping around, he stared, wide eyed and stunned, as he found himself staring at a tall woman watching him calmly from behind. Far too calmly actually, even if you completely disregarded the carnage around them. She didn't even look like she was awake._

_She was tall and elegant, with long black hair flowing down her back. Her body seemed to be covered by a toga made of dirt and stone, a strange sight even by the Wizarding World's standards and one that had no business at a warzone. But what really made her bizarre to Perseus was that she seemed to be caught between being awake and asleep, her eyes closed and her body lightly swaying in a wind that Perseus couldn't feel._

_However, despite that, there was no mistaking her for anything less than dangerous. For from her mere presence came a sensation of power so great that Perseus felt like he was being crushed right down to the depths of Hell itself. _

_"Wh...who are you?" He asked, stumbling over his words as he tried to step away, his fear only growing as he found his legs locked firmly in place. "How..how can you..."_

_"See you?" The woman asked sleepily, completely unphased by him or anything around him. "I, my young one, see all that occurs upon the earth and it is I who brought you here. I thought it wise that you be warned."_

_"Warned?" Perseus stuttered, visibly shaking. This women seemed familiar. Not in the sense that he had seen her before, but rather that he had felt a similar presence before. There was another similarly looking woman who radiated power that had appeared in his dreams before, but even she didn't feel like this. No, the man with the scythe was the one she felt most like, only so much more powerful than even him and possibly even more terrifying. "Why would I need a warning?"_

_Lightly snoring in response, the woman slowly, lazily, raised her right arm, pointing a finger up toward a bridge. Not a second later, Perseus' suddenly thoroughly disorientated vision refocused to find himself upon it, right in the middle of a fight. Cyclopes, satyrs and beasts of all kinds swarmed the place on either side, but it was the humans within the masses that his eyes were being forced to focus on. Particularly on a scuffle right in the middle._

_A number of archers had found themselves surrounded, protecting a few injured allies and a pair of girls trying to stabilise and remove them from the fight. They were doing pretty well, despite being ridiculously outnumbered, their arrows expertly piercing monsters in the heart, throat or head, most of them instantly turning into dust upon impact. However, right as they were making some headway, an Asian guy burst from the horde and struck an arrow right out of the air with his sword, saving a woman with a prosthetic and a goat leg. Perseus had just enough time to notice the eye patch and register the face as he blocked two more arrows with his shield and struck a third with his sword again before he charged right at the archers, slamming his shoulder into one and leaving them crashing into another and a medic before going on his way, kicking a satyr right off of the bridge and into the river as he went, leaving the unsteady archers to be overwhelmed by their bloodthirsty enemies._

_Perseus didn't see the results of that, fortunately for him, for a second later everything blurred around him again. This time, when his vision cleared, he found himself surrounded by concrete rubble in front of what looked like a library. This time there were a number of teens moving with impressive speed as they attacked, opting for hit and run tactics while a pair of stone lions did the heavy work, striking down a variety of different creatures ranging from reptiles to man-bear hybrids, along with a few other teenagers. However that came to an almost immediate end as another young man entered the scene. His eyes being drawn irresistibly towards the newcomer, Perseus had no trouble making out the sword of pure gold in one hand, nor the familiar, acid green eyes and splatter of freckles the brunette had beneath them before he raised his hand and, uttering a single word, unleashed as shockwave of blue light that blew both lions to pieces and flung all of the speedy kids crashing into the ground. The boy stuck for just a moment more, sparing his victims a scathing look and raising a shield of blue light before him, blocking an arrow aimed for his eye, before jumping back behind the debris, sending tendrils of magic after the archer as they ran for their lives._

_"You should take care in who you place your trust." The woman stated calmly, placing a hand on his shoulder as the battle wore on, her mere presence forcing him to watch as the fights went on. He flinching rather violently as one of the speedy kids stabbed an enemy human without a flicker of remorse as he fell to the ground, gasping as he no doubt drowned on his own blood."Even those who look and act the most innocent can be hiding rather gruesome natures."_

_She didn't get a chance to say anything more however, for at that moment, a heart wrenching scream that could only have come from Alabaster flooded Perseus' ears and was immediately followed by his vision being consumed by purple flames._

...

"AAUUUGGHHH!" His cry reverberated around the room as Perseus awoke, springing up like a rocket and gasping desperately for air as wide eyes swept unseeingly across everything around him. He had just enough presence of mind to realise that he was awake now and acknowledge that the woman was, thankfully, not there, but that brought him little comfort. His mind was still far too trapped in his nightmare, a cyclone of horrors swirling within it.

That woman alone...there was no words to describe how she made him feel. Her mere presence was so demanding, so intense, overwhelming and so, so malicious! She wasn't even fully aware, not all there, Perseus wasn't sure how he knew it exactly, but had no doubt that that was a mere fraction of her being, that her true aura and power would dwarf what he'd felt spectacularly, and yet it already felt so...omnipotent, so all-consuming, so inescapable. He had no doubt in his mind, if she had wanted to, she could have crushed him to dust without so much as a blink.

Everything else in the dream...well as traumatising as it was, he'd seen it all before. Especially summer, he'd seen plenty of nightmares that bad and worse back then. He was more or less used to them, desensitised. Though, seeing two of his friends like that...well, he still didn't know what to make of that. To see Alabaster of all people act so viciously, to look at people with so much hatred and disgust. Only to then hear him scream with so much anguish. To see Ethan protect those monsters and leave kids at their mercy...

None of it mattered. He'd seen it before. And it was what that woman wanted him to see. Yeah that woman, she was what was truly wrong. She...she was so...the way the sense of torment and pressure tripled when she touched him...

Throwing the blanket off of him, Perseus didn't even stop to change as he barrelled his way out of his room. He was too boxed in, too enclosed, too isolated. Even his pyjamas felt too restrictive, ensnaring. Tugging his shirt as far from his throat as it would go without tearing, he couldn't help but wonder how much of an issue it would be if he decided to become a nudist before declaring the whole thing ridiculous as he burst into the Great Hall. It was only then that he finally was able to take in the air his lungs so desperately needed.

A good number of people stopped what they were doing to stare questioningly his way, but that only lasted a moment or two. This was far from the first time Perseus had made a dramatic entrance. Ignoring the lingering looks from the first years and anyone questioning his attire, Perseus simply took in the area and everyone in it, letting his anxiety finally start to dissipate. This space was large. There were a lot of people, none of them were trying to kill each other. He wasn't isolated, wasn't alone with the demon god lady. She wasn't here. The monsters weren't here. His dreams couldn't affect his reality. He was fine. He was safe. He was...

He needed reassurance.

Glancing over at the teacher's table, he gave a concerned Dumbledore a small, hopefully reassuring, grin and let the sense of safety the man always gave him envelope him before turning his attention to the student tables. Narrowing in on the Ravenclaw table, Perseus could only sigh as he noticed Alabaster's expected absence. He'd have to find him later, he always did. But for now, there was another who could give him what he wanted.

Turning his attention to the Hufflepuff table, Perseus didn't know whether to smile or tense as he found the eye patch. Though his uneasiness was hardly going to stop him, he was already crossing the room.

Honestly, Ethan didn't look any more comfortable than he did right now. He was sitting right in the middle of the table looking more than a little tense, his head forever facing down toward the table as he ate. Though, as he got closer, Perseus noticed that his eye was far more active, forever flitting around those near him, almost as if he was afraid that they'd left him or something. That was a little strange. What was he so nervous about?

"Perseus! Gracing us with your presence this morning, eh? That's an interesting look you're sporting there." Perseus almost jumped as he reached the table, only a few feet away from his goal. Ethan's jerked up too as his name was mentioned, the Asian staring at him with a flicker of fear for a split second before he warped it into a small grin. Perseus took note of that, but left it for later as he smirked at Ernie McMillan, playing with his muscle shirt.

"Thought the girls would appreciate the eye candy." Flexing his muscles a little and leaving Ernie rolling his eyes as a few girls giggled at his antics. He gave the guy a smug look before turning what he hoped was a friendly smile towards the Asian beside the prefect. "Hey Ethan. Been to Pomfrey yet?"

"Morning Perseus, yeah I've been." Ethan nodded quickly before a look of concern crossed his face. "Do you need to go see her? You looked wrecked."

"Nah, just overdid it last night. That and nightmares." Perseus answered, waving it off as he grabbed a plate and loaded it with bacon and eggs, though never taking his eyes from the guy opposite him. "I tend to have strange ones. Full of monsters. Some people with shiny swords and old fashioned armour too." He added casually before taking a bite, letting his eyes wander to his food for a second, if only to avoid openly declaring he was waiting for a reaction.

"Wow, you have some crazy ones." Ethan replied, his eye flickering toward the teacher's table for a moment before turning back to Perseus with a smile that the water user couldn't quite identify. The guy was such a strange mix of curiosity and nervousness and Perseus couldn't quite tell what was causing what reaction. "Not that I'm much better. Right now." He added quickly, seemingly noting something off with his companion. "Mostly consisting of up close looks at giant spiders. That was freaking terrifying."

"Yeah, no kidding." Perseus nodded, conceding. It wasn't like he hadn't been there before. Those, sadly, were the most normal dreams he'd ever had. "Those things are the worst. Have they kept you awake too?" He asked, growing a little concerned himself as he finally settled enough to really examine his new friend. He was probably just as dark under his visible eye as Perseus was and nightmare induced insomnia could explain his current flightiness.

"It's been a...long night." Ethan sighed, rubbing his eye for emphasis. "I got second period free and I think I'll just take a nap.

"Sounds like a plan. You look like you need it." Ernie said between bites, startling Ethan. He must have forgot he was there. That was weird, considering how much he was watching everyone before. "You should go back to Madam Pomfrey too. If you're struggling this much with sleep, then she'd be happy to give you some dreamless sleep potions."

"Yeah, I'll do that." Ethan nodded lightly, offering the guy a frazzled smile. "Thanks dude."

"Always happy to help where I can." Ernie smiled before turning back to Hannah Abbot and Justin Finch-Fletchley, the lack of attention seeming to calm Ethan down a moment later. Again, Perseus found that weird, but he was happy to right it off. Sleep deprived people didn't tend to be very social. It wasn't really all that surprising when he thought about it.

Taking another bite of his food, Perseus just let him relax in quiet company for a little while as he pondered everything over. He wasn't really sure what to make of this attempt at reassurance or what he was doing anyway, so his time would be better spent going over what he knew about the guy. Ethan was another case like Alabaster, probably a year older than Perseus, actually his age at the least, with a distinct look and yet Perseus had never seen him until he'd already seen him in his more recent debut in his dreams. Though Asians weren't that uncommon at Hogwarts and the eye patch may be a recent development. He had an American accent, just like Perseus and Al too, something that was almost unheard of in the Wizarding World. Then there was the fact that he seemed very nervous about people. He seemed keen to avoid attention from anyone. Again, it was a little similar to Alabaster, only the Ravenclaw opted to pointedly walk away from anyone that wasn't Perseus and both were uncertain about even him when they first met. They both also seemed keen to avoid certain topics. He may not be the brightest guy in the world, but Perseus wasn't an idiot. He knew the difference between an ADHD scatter brain scenario and actively avoiding a topic.

There was a fair bit of evidence that could suggest that his dreams meant something. But at the same time, Ethan seemed fragile, vulnerable, even in his dreams. Normally when he appeared in them, Ethan seemed so unsure himself, hesitant to hurt someone or answer questions. That dream in the giant throne room in particular showed a guy who was willing to sacrifice himself for those girls, defending them from the guy who now held the second most disturbing character slot in his dreams. Even when he saw him fighting those archers last night, he didn't actually kill anyone. Even the satyr he kicked into the water had the chance to survive and he left the fight at the first opportunity.

He still wasn't sure what to make of his dreams, however, whether or not they were real, Perseus was sure that Ethan was a good guy. Alabaster too. Besides, he trusted Alabaster a lot more than that some superpowered figment of his nightmares. He was going to keep looking into their connections to his dreams, but he wasn't going to worry too much about their meaning. He trusted them.

_'That lady's just a figment of my dreams. What does she know?'_ He decided, digging into his food with gusto. Mentally promising to never jump to suspicions while sleep deprived again, Perseus turned back to Ethan with a tired smile and coaxed him into a much more casual conversation. Starting with places Ethan could hide out and extend his nap all the way to after lunch and laughing off Ernie and Hannah's attempts at scolding their attempts at negligence and moving into a round of who's hot, who's not until it was time for the Hufflepuff to scurry off to class. And if he suddenly seemed a little too keen to hang out closely with the others, well Perseus wasn't gonna worry about it.

...

It took more self restraint than Albus was willing to admit as he watched the scene from his seat, forcing himself to remain in place and appear ignorant to their conversation. He had spent almost the entirety of the previous day and night trying to pin down the school's unknown guest, but the young man had managed to avoid him at every turn. Never before had he had so much difficulty catching his known targets within his school, regardless of any magic they might have used to deter him. Whoever this young one was, he was well experienced in stealth and escape and this magic enshrouding him was truly something else. It took constant focus to will his way through its affects, enough so that any distraction left him stumbling to reclaim his clarity.

Yet that was clearly not of any concern to Perseus. Though clearly troubled when he first walked into the hall, he found the one eyed youngster with ease. What was even more surprising was that their infiltrator, though clearly unnerved, had allowed the contact. After a few moments, and looks in Albus' direction that he pretended not to notice, he even relaxed a little into the conversation. One that even Mr McMillan casually inserted himself into, though that too unsettled the boy a little each time, sometimes seeming unsure about the situation and other times nervously peeking up at the Headmaster pretending to focus solely on his breakfast.

That told Albus a few things. He was already aware that Perseus would see through his mental charm, meaning he either already knew what Perseus was or they'd interacted before. Judging from how quickly whatever was troubling Perseus mellowed away the boy's reaction to his young ward, Albus was willing to bet both. McMillan's interaction with him was unexpected, meaning that the stranger was not used to using the power currently protecting him and even he didn't know the complete dynamics to its nature. It also suggested that the more attention that was drawn to him, the less effective the spell became, something Albus could certainly take advantage of. However, the decline in affect in itself didn't seem to concern him too much, he was simply unprepared for that level of attention from another student, further supporting the possibility that he and Perseus had met again since the incident. What really troubled him was the decline in defence from Dumbledore.

_'Not that it would matter.'_ Albus sighed, taking a sip from his goblet as he watched the newest enigma leave the hall. He was still too aware of his surroundings. If Albus had tried to approach, then he would have taken off and disappeared behind the masses and the restored effects of his magic all over again, as he had the day before. As it stood, without the use of force, a very dangerous idea if his theory of the boy's identity was correct, it was unlikely that Albus could corner him. _'Although, perhaps another could.'_

"Another could what?" Blinking, Albus was actually startled as he turned his head to find Perseus taking a seat next to him, the boy in question looking just as surprised before a large, proud smile spread across his face. "Merlin's beard, I did it! I actually surprised you. I'll go down in history for that one! Minerva, Phineas, you saw that, right? Please tell me you saw it, no one will ever believe me alone!"

"It appears that you have." Albus conceded, smiling indulgently before Minerva could scold him on his manners, much to her irritation and Phineas' amusement. All the while berating himself for his lapse in awareness. It would not do at all for his thoughts to slip from his tongue. "I fear that I am not, as you say, 'all there' this morning."

"I've told you before that those all nighters were going to kill you one day. Try listening to me, Gramps." Perseus smirked cheekily, pointedly ignoring the look on Minerva's face behind him. Sadly for her, there was no time to reprimand him herself or she'd be late for her first class, leaving her as one of many teachers leaving the room with amused shakes of their heads or annoyed eye rolls.

"Perhaps, but I am sure your tongue will be the death of you first." Albus retorted, grinning despite the light scolding. "So, I see you found your problem child?" He commented lightly as Perseus took a goblet and a piece of toast.

"Yeah, last night actually." Perseus nodded as he chewed, spitting bred across the table before Albus' raised eyebrow dragged an apologetic look from him, leaving him waiting to swallow before talking again. "I'm still surprised Madam Pomfrey let Ethan out so soon. I mean, when was the last time she released anyone before their wounds completely healed? He must have the greatest power of persuasion in the universe to pull that one off."

"I couldn't agree more." Dumbledore nodded, tucking every tidbit he got away. So he was right, they had met again previously and seemed to have grown on friendly terms. Though the stranger, Ethan, didn't seem to be giving much more away to Perseus than anyone else. That was interesting.

Feeling a need for confirmation, Albus met the teen's eyes before he could turn back to the table and snuck a quick glance into his mind, taking care to only let his legimency grace his mental surface as he checked the memory Perseus was pulling from. Sure enough, Ethan, though nervous at the start, had quickly warmed to Perseus and yet played the part of just another student. It was quite curious. Why would he let Perseus stay close if he didn't want him knowing the truth? He had to have a reason. After all, the boy had to be aware that Perseus was both different from the rest of them and a liability to his attempts to hide away. If he was the shadow that Albus suspected him to be, then he probably even knew exactly what Perseus was, so if he didn't yet intend to say anything, why take such risks?

_'I suppose that there are two reasons.'_ He mused to himself, this time much more careful to keep his thoughts quite. _'It could be that he felt it the easiest way to stop Perseus from fussing over him and risking his cover. Considering how the boy can get, calming and indulging him would be the best course of action for the interests of subtlety. The other is that he is still trying to determine Perseus' placement in our world before he reveals anything to him. Of course, a third possibility is simple loneliness.' _It would be impossible to find the correct answer now, however. In the end, the answer depended on why he had come to begin with.

However, that train of thought was pushed aside almost immediately as another flicker of memory crossed into his mind, once again showing Ethan, but with a much less peaceful outcome.

"I see that I am not the only one who's had difficulty sleeping." He commented, as a loud yawn was released from the water wielder, happy for the cover. Taking note of the shadows under the boy's eyes as his previous entrance flickered across his mind, he silently scolded himself. Those only ever formed when he'd dreamed something very disturbing. He should have noticed them already.

"Yeah. Nightmares again." Perseus sighed, his body sagging a little as he took a drink. "The usual, mostly. War and bloodshed. Monsters. And...some woman trying to tell me my friends are awful people." He added, trying to come off nonchalant. However, Albus could see that this new figure bothered him a lot. Though most would miss it, Albus was well versed at noting the tension and stress the boy's blasé expressions tried to cover. At the mention of her, his whole body seemed to ooze with it. It was more than enough to concern Albus. "It's ridiculous, really. It's not like I haven't seen Ethan and Alabaster in those dreams before. Why would this woman's words make anything different?"

"Alabaster?" Albus asked, careful to keep his tone light.

"Yeah, Alabaster Torrington. You know, from Ravenclaw." Perseus nodded, jerking his head toward the eagle house's table. "He's pretty cool. A bit too antisocial and has some issues with authority figures, but snarky as hell and fun to banter with. I have no idea why it took me so many years to notice the guy. But then again, what do I know, I failed to notice an Asian with an eye patch until he was bleeding out against me. And now that I have noticed them, it's like I can't not know them." He added, rubbing his chin as he stared thoughtfully into space. "I can't really explain it. It just feels like...now that I know them, I just can't not know them, you know? There's something about them that's so...comforting I guess? Like I found my home, maybe?"

"My boy, in a school this large, it is always easy for a few faces to slip through the cracks." Albus smiled kindly, all the while taking stock of this new information and putting his all into not letting his newly extended concerns show as he made a number of quick decisions. "And I have watched many young people walk these halls, meet new people and find themselves drawn to them. It's quite normal. If these boys can make you feel this way, then I am very happy. I only wish that you could have felt this way with those your own age before. To find those you truly feel at home with is something to treasure."

Perseus' warm smile could have lit the entire Great Hall as they fell into what the boy perceived as a peaceful silence that stayed until he headed off to join a Care of Magical Creatures class. Albus however, was honestly very scared about what he'd learned and the decision he'd just made.

There were two of them in his school. Two people from Perseus' dreams, one of which had a standing history with Perseus and yet both had told him nothing. How long had the other been in the school? He couldn't know. The only one who might was Perseus, whom he couldn't ask without alerting him to the truth. Which could make him distrust these boys, could make him play the wrong move.

At the same time, leaving him in the dark about them could be very dangerous for him. Their intentions were completely unknown, as were there numbers. They could intend to use or hurt him. However, Perseus was Albus' only currently guaranteed route to finding either teenager and he doubted their desire was to harm the boy. Both had already no doubt seen him as a security risk and yet they seemed to welcome his presence. And if they truly were the ones mentioned in the prophecy, then a strong friendship with Perseus could be crucial to preventing the possibility of yet another war.

He was walking a very thin line here, one of blind faith and great risk, but for now, he had no other choice. This was the only way to find this Alabaster. His attempts to corner Ethan had already proven that point, if he wanted Alabaster, then he must not be aware that he was on to him, otherwise, he would never even know who he was after.

As for Ethan, that ship had sailed. Albus knew he would be unlikely to catch him, but perhaps someone else still could. Someone who could keep everything quiet, had the knowledge and talent pull such a feet off and had the mental will to fight whatever enchantment that seemed to be placed on Hogwarts itself.

As much as he would like to bring in more of his staff, he feared that only one would be capable enough and free of the risk of compromising their information. He could only hope that Minerva would trust him.

After all, if he was wrong then he was putting Perseus and their world in terrible danger.

* * *

**AN:** Up a bit later than usual, I know. Thanks again everyone for the new reviews, favorites and alerts. You make my day.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

"Albus, I haven't seen you this concerned in a very long time. What has happened now?" Minerva asked as she entered the Headmaster's office and took the offered seat before his desk, never taking her eyes off the visibly troubled old man. It had been an extremely long time since she'd seen him this unsettled and even longer since she'd received requests to visit him at the earliest possible time during a class. Especially a first period class, when she'd only seen him, looking quite jovial, when not lost in thought, at breakfast not ten minutes beforehand.

"I fear a day we have been waiting for may have finally come. Sadly, it could not have happened at a worse time." Albus sighed gravely as he opened a cupboard and pulled out a distinct stone dish, placing it on his desk before taking a seat himself. "Tell me Minerva, have you seen this face?" He asked, taking his wand to him temple and extracting a silver, wispy tendril to place in the silvery mass of the bowl. The moment it joined its brethren, the liquidy surface warped and created the face of an Asian boy with an eye patch over his left eye.

"Of course, Albus! He's one of our students. I had him in my classroom just yesterday." Minerva answered, staring up confusedly at the old wizard.

"What's his name, Minerva?" Albus asked, making a point to look her right in the eyes as he did.

"Why it's...it's..." A deep frown quickly grew over her face as the answer refused to come to her. That never happened. She could name every student in Hogwarts, and even most who'd long left, without the slightest delay and tell you at least how they behaved and performed in her class too. But this boy... "I...I don't know. In fact, I can't tell you a single thing about him except that he looked rather nervous yesterday at the beginning of class. I've never seen him before then!" She cried, her eyes widening as the pieces clicked together.

"No, you haven't." Albus nodded, leaning forward and resting his chin in his interlaced hands. "Tell me Minerva, what did you think of him the first moment you saw him and does it match the rest of your experience with him. Please, think very carefully."

"I...I was confused, concerned." Minerva started, biting her lip as she wracked her brain, forcing what felt like fog away from her mind. "I was about to call him up on his presence, but...then it was like..."

"He'd always been there. That there was no need for concern, that his presence was normal." Dumbledore finished for her, her sharpening look being all the confirmation he needed.

"Who is he, Albus? What is happening here? And how, in Merlin's name, is he interfering with my mind?" Minerva asked, worry and indignation rising in her voice.

"His name is Ethan. I have no last name to offer." Dumbledore sighed, staring down at the young man's face again as it started to ripple. "He arrived two days ago. Perseus found him being attacked in the Forbidden Forest with a large and very deadly stab wound in his side. It was quite a horrid sight to behold and what's worse, it resisted all magical attempts to heal it. And yet, even though it still exists, he was able to convince Poppy to release him from the hospital wing that very night with the belief that she had completely healed the wound planted in not only her mind, but also all of those who'd become aware of the situation. That is, except for Perseus. If it was not for him, I would still be completely unaware of the situation."

"Albus...how is that possible?" Minerva cried, paling considerably as she stared at him with wide, shocked eyes. "To manipulate even your prospective...and why would he leave a medical wing if he still had such an injury? Poppy would still assist him, regardless of a manipulation of perception. And if you have regained your correct perception, why have you not apprehended the intruder? Why..." There were so many questions going through her mind, all of them coming so fast and so muddled that Minerva didn't even know what she should be asking. Though one other question seemed imperative. "Just how big of a threat are we considering him to be?"

"Calm yourself, Minerva. I am not fearing bloodshed just yet." Albus said soothingly, pushing his bowl of lemon drops toward her in silent offering, a small grin crossing his lips as, for the first time ever, she actually took one and tossed it into her mouth before turning serious again. "I'm afraid my answers are still very limited. I imagine that he left the hospital wing for fear that the level of attention could risk his discovery, for it seems such focus disrupts the magic in use on our minds. And his injury is significantly less severe now. Though it is once again through Perseus that we have acquired this knowledge and soothed the panic stricken mind of our resident Healer, if only a little. Despite my best efforts, I have failed to corner our unknown guest. As for how he has hoodwinked our minds...I can only speculate based off what I have seen and it has only fuelled my suspicions and fears."

"He is able to evade you of all people? Yet Perseus has managed to approach him twice?" Minerva exclaimed, her face quickly turning from shock to horror as the picture being painted became clear. "Albus...do you truly believe..."

"Yes, Minerva." Albus nodded as the Pensieve's image finally reformed, this time depicting a glassy eyed Sybil Trelawny before rippling again into Perseus. "The evidence is heavily suggesting that shadows from Perseus' home have come to Hogwarts."

"Shadows? That's plural." Minerva muttered, biting her lip again as she turned back and forth from the Pensieve to Dumbledore.

"Yes, I believe that there is a second. One that has been under our noses, yet completely unseen, for a much longer time." Dumbledore confirmed, a flicker of shame crossing his face. "This morning, Perseus mentioned another student who, like Ethan, he feels drawn to. On top of that, both Ethan and this student have been depicted in Perseus' dreams long before he had ever seen them, a strange thought in itself. I have no face to place to the name, but I believe you can assure me that there are no Ravenclaw students bearing the name Alabaster Torrington?"

"No. I've never heard that name before." Minerva confirmed softly. The poor woman was pale as a ghost. Not that he could blame her. Infiltration of a children's school was a serious situation at the best of times, but to have it happen now, in a time when murderers were gearing up for mass slaughter, and to have one slip through defences as great as Hogwarts' without a trace no less! These 'shadows', especially the one still hidden, could be catastrophic to the children they'd sworn to protect.

To put it bluntly, they were failing in their duty. If someone with that kind talent turned out to be hostile or willing to help Voldemort...

"You have mentioned Perseus repeatedly." Minerva spoke up, breaking Albus' train of thought as her faced hardened, her eyes growing sharper once again, calculating. "He seems capable of tracking them, yes? Why not have him assist you? And how is this Ethan evading you if his spell is broken on you?"

"I am keeping Perseus unaware of my fears and suspicions for now. Though he already has some suspicions of his own." Dumbledore replied, powering on as Minerva opened her mouth. "As it is, the two of them seem to trust him. They both let him close and talk to him and neither have made a single move to harm him, despite him risking their exposure. From the way Perseus spoke of Alabaster particularly, I believe they have some affection for our young Blessing of Neptune, so I am keen to let their relationship continue. It is after all, information that Perseus obtains and provides in passing that has allowed us to discover their existence in the first place. If we cannot apprehend them, then it is best that Perseus is still able to report to us. On top of that, I believe leaving him to his own devices is the only way we are going to determine the identity of Alabaster. Do not worry, I fully intend to keep watch over him, Minerva, I am simply doing it from an inconspicuous distance. If I thought for a second that Perseus was in danger, I would remove him from the equation entirely. As it stands, I believe he is currently by far the safest in their presence.

"As for your other question, that is where I need your assistance. I'm afraid that this still baffles me to some extent." Dumbledore went on, when he certain that Minerva was satisfied with his explanation. That stern look on her face said that anything but approved of it, however, she was still conceding and motioning for him to continue. "A part of the problem is that Ethan has determined that I have broken his spell, in a weaker sense than I'd like however, and works hard to avoid me. The other part is that the spell is not broken. In fact, I do not believe that I am even its actual target, merely another part of it."

"This is no time to be cryptic, Albus!" Minerva snapped, piercing him with her best 'no nonsense' scowl.

"I'm not, Minerva." Albus sighed, flicking his wand to a teapot and bringing it to boil as it and two cups floated to his desk. He really could use a good cup of tea and believed Minerva was feeling much the same. "I do not believe you, nor I, was ever hit with this magic. Even now, I have no memory of being hit with any kind of spell, nor can I recall a single one to have the affects that we have displayed. Everyone within the castle seems to have been affected, with the sole exception being Perseus. On top of that, this magic, whatever it is, is still affecting my mind.

"Whenever I find him, he moves into crowds, particularly large ones or those made of students with notable physical differences. Once he has done this, my mind struggles to remember which student I'm looking for. What's more, when he is not in sight, he can slip from my mind. I have to intentionally remind myself frequently that he is not one of our students. Poppy struggles too. I have had to remind her three times within the last twelve hours, and you can imagine what that has done for her stress level, considering the condition of the boy. Fortunately, Occlumency has helped greatly to resist it, as has leaving physical reminders for myself, but little helps when actually trying to track down the boy who knows he's being tracked.

"However, he may not expect it of you." Dumbledore stated, taking a sip from his cup as Minerva did the same. "It is too late for me to try more subtle methods with this one, but you could. That's what I'm asking of you, Minerva. Watch him, but don't let him realise what you are doing. Keep your distance and leave him unsuspecting until you are confident that he cannot escape you. Meanwhile, I shall watch Perseus' interactions more closely until I find our hidden visitor from America."

"And then do what exactly, Albus?" Minerva asked, the colour returning to her face, though she still looked very wary. "How do you intend to act when we have tracked these boys down?"

"As hospitably as possible." Albus answered immediately, directing Minerva's raised eyebrow back down to the Pensieve revealed the scene of Trellawny and Perseus' first meeting. "Remember, the prophecy stated that both peace and war are possible options of this meeting and I would like this to go as peacefully as possible. Especially since it is happening now that Voldemort has returned." He added, his voice growing a lot darker. "This is why I have not asked Severus for assistance as well. If we can forge a friendship between us and them, it will be of a great benefit. However, these times are far from ideal. The Wizarding World is divided three ways and the Ministry is looking for targets. More creatures from the Forbidden Lands appearing at my side in Hogwarts will no doubt be taken very aggressively. On the other hand, Voldemort already wants to obtain Perseus for his connection to the Forbidden Lands. If he were to discover that two more beings have come, who most likely not only have the information he needs for his plan to finally move forward, but can possibly even acquire the army for him, then he too will make a move that could greatly benefit him or endanger us all.

"On top of that, we do not know what these two are." He continued, albeit in a lighter mood, finishing off his tea. "Considering their appearance, I'd consider that they could be Perseus' kind, were it not for the centaurs informing us that he, at least was, the only one of his kind not ten years ago. Though they may be relations of his father, perhaps the pure blooded species, but Perseus has not shown any talent with the kind magic these boys seem to be employing upon us."

"That may only be because he hasn't discovered it yet." Minerva commented dryly, placing down her own finished cup. "To this day, I believe it foolish to assume we know all of Perseus' abilities. You said more than once that he's acquired knowledge from his dreams, for Merlin's sake! We have yet to determine their nature, let's not count out anything else."

"Wise words." Dumbledore nodded with a grin. "But we must also not rule out that these boys may be an entirely different species from Perseus either, maybe even from each other, yet we must keep it quiet. As catastrophic as it will be if the Ministry or Voldemort finds out three Forbidden Land Beings reside within our walls, it will be even worse if it is even believed that they are of multiple species. For now, none of this leaves this room."

"Of course." Minerva agreed, rising to her feet. "I will do what I can and hope for the best, but I hope you are planning for the worst as well. You've said it yourself; this is a powder keg situation and it is most likely going to blow up in our faces."

"Of course I am, Minerva. Trust me, I am well aware." Dumbledore nodded, watching as she let herself out before letting out a long, deep sigh, removing his glasses so as to rub his eyes. Placing them back on, he looked back down at the Pensieve again as the prophecy spilled from Sybil's lips. _'After all, we have yet to fully understand this prophecy, only that both a positive and a negative result are possible. Even after every line's meaning is discovered, until all is said and done, I still will fear for our future.'_

...

"What do you mean you haven't seen my decree proposition? I sent it days ago, Minister!"

"I'm sorry Delores, but I have seen no proposition...such as the one you're describing." A man responded, sounding more than a little disturbed as he went on. "I have only found one proposal on my desk this week and...I must say Delores, this is getting out of hand!"

"What? Whatever are you talking about, Minister?" Umbridge cried, clearly flabbergasted. "Every decree I have suggested and implemented has allowed for Ministry control and culling of undesirable activity! Why should decrees extending to that _creature_-"

"I'm not talking about any decree that may concern Dumbledore's...ward." Minister Fudge exclaimed, sounding more and more uncomfortable by the minute. "I'm speaking about decrees such as the one I found this morning, declaring that the school's girls should not be allowed to wear tights on Tuesdays!"

"WHAT?"

"That's not the first of its kind you've sent me either." The man went on, growing ever more flustered. "Frolicking with centaurs in the dark woods, suggestions for reinstatements of old rituals and ceremonies that involve outright nudity, requests for Dementors to return to the school and the hallways at night, just to name a few! I've been meaning to bring this up with you for a while, Delores. If knowledge of any of these got out, the public would revolt for your removal from the school and to have you charged with attempted sexual predation and child endangerment!"

"I...I never sent any propositions of the sort!" Umbridge exclaimed, her pitch rising so high that it was almost an incomprehensible screech. "I assure you Minister, not once have I made any such suggestion!"

"Well, they are all in your handwriting, complete with your signature and have arrived to the ministry via your owl." The Minister replied.

"There must be some mistake! To think I of all people, Minister, would suggest such things! To have such ghastly things associated with my name...it's...it's..."

Alabaster found himself struggling harder to restrain his snickering the longer the conversation went on from his place, leaning next to Umbridge's door, mist circling the ear he had tilted toward it as he listened in. It was a simple spell, allowing him to hear through solid walls as if they weren't there, even through the wizards' silencing spells, not that Umbridge ever thought to raise one. It made spying on the walking insult to witches everywhere ridiculously easy. Rewarding too, right now. Nothing was so satisfying as witnessing a tyrannical, power hungry bitch be reduced to a spluttering, temperamental mess. Especially when you're the one who drove them there.

_'If only I could see through the wall. I'd love to see the look on her face._' He mentally sighed, a wicked smirk crossing his face as she huffed and screeched her innocence again. '_She must look like such a cranky brat right now.'_

He'd been at this more than long enough to predict her actions and responses. Ever since he'd come to Hogwarts and found himself befriending Perseus, he'd been keeping an eye on this pathetic excuse for an old hag and barely resisting the urge to turn her into the toad she already so closely resembled. She was far too much like the Gods. Lusting for power, reining what she had over everyone else, belittling everyone beneath her, cruel to everyone she didn't like, be it due to her own racism or the fact that they were a threat to her rise to power and oh, so smug and arrogant, as if everyone else in the castle was beneath her in every way possible, not worthy of even kissing her feet. Well, except for that detestable janitor, Argus Filch. He treated her like a Goddess, so he was just worthy enough to lick her heels.

This woman was a problem to him, though a minor one. All of her decrees tended to change the routines of students and teachers alike, cracking down on them. That made it a little more taxing to hide himself at times. His spell allowed him to blend in with the students just fine, but if he moved too far out of the normal, such as after curfew at night, there was less to work with and therefore, increased the risk of discovery, though not nearly enough for him to care much. In most cases, he'd simply supply more power to his spells and whoever caught him would forget anything about it before long, while he'd adjust to the new patterns. No, as far as he was concerned, his biggest grievance with the bitch was that she represented everything that he hated as perfectly as Zeus himself.

"I am being framed for this, Minister! Someone is intercepting my owls and forging my decrees! It must be Dumbledore, he surely could pull it off! Anything to protect Potter and his precious, savage, water brat-"

"Very well, I believe you!" Minister Fudge exclaimed, raising his voice over Umbridge's as she only continued to go on. "Rest assured that I've already destroyed the evidence against you. Now, since you have mentioned him, let us move on to Mr Jackson, yes? You haven't reported to me about him since I promoted you to High Inquisitor! What has become of Albus' ward? I'm frightfully out of date in all matters considering...him."

"Excuse me, Minister? I have been sending reports about Dumbledore's pet mongrel all year!" Umbridge cried, before falling into another spiteful rant. "This is only further proof of Dumbledore's involvement! That _boy_ is wild, reckless and dangerous. He should never have been brought to our civilised world to begin with, he's completely unfit for it! We don't even know what kind of mongrel he is and yet Dumbledore and his loyal teachers not only give him full reign, but encourage the use of his explosive powers."

Alabaster's smirk slipped away, a scowl quickly replacing it as Umbridge went on. It was her hatred and attacks on Perseus that provided him with the most of his concern and his hatred, a surprising fact considering just how much he despised everything she represented. Unlike Alabaster, Perseus was known to everyone. He was a halfbreed, something that Umbridge detested as much as the Potter boy on its own, raised by Dumbledore, as such he was seen as the old man's weapon, and more powerful than any wizard could hope to be. He ticked every single box for obtaining her hatred and disgust, leading her to attempt to discredit, restrain and remove him from the Wizarding World in its entirety since the beginning. So Alabaster had taken it upon himself to protect his friend.

Honestly, he could have been more tactful about it. He could have simply used the Mist to manipulate the owls into believing that he was the intended recipient of Umbridges's letters. However, he found it far more satisfying having her discredit herself. He couldn't kill her without bringing all Hades down on the entire castle, so he used a little spell he found and tweaked a little in the school's library to have her write one thing and believe it to be another. He couldn't do it too much or this point would have arrived much sooner, though considering the perverse and deadly proposals he'd had Umbridge write, it was amazing that this confrontation took so long, so he restricted his meddling to anything that involved Perseus.

Now that they had reached this point, he'd have to find a way to actually, safely, deal with her soon. Even as he mulled over just what he could try next, he could already hear the crone explaining her latest proposal and the pair of them plotting how to move on Dumbledore over this. He couldn't have that succeeding. While he didn't care about the Headmaster or his declining rep, the old coot's control of the castle was imperative for keeping Perseus there and safe with Alabaster. He just didn't know what to do just yet. His normal methods would cause more harm than good to his current goals.

"Yes, I agree. Such a dangerous display of power should be...contained, preferably removed entirely. The boy is certainly old enough to go home now. But the school's inhabitants are still decided by the Headmaster alone. Without proven cause, I cannot demand the boy's removal. However, if he..."

Alabaster stopped listening at that point. They were only repeating the methods described in the decree proposals anyway, he already knew what they wanted to do. So he was free to turn his attention away as the school's third demigod hurried down the hall, his harried eye pinning the groaning witch boy.

"Alabaster, your spell's not working right!" Ethan exclaimed before Alabaster could say a word, immediately causing him to tense. "I've been-"

"Not here!" Alabaster hissed quietly, snagging the revenge child by his robes and dragging him away to the nearest door. Flinging it open, he took half a second to confirm that it was an unused room before practically throwing Ethan at a desk, closing the door behind them and rounding on him. "Are you trying to test your luck again? I was just outside the office of the absolute last person you want overhearing anything about us!"

"Who cares! at the rate this is going, they may all know by dinner anyway!" Ethan cried, completely unphased by the glare coming his way. "I've spent all of yesterday running my ass off from the world's most athletic and persistent old man! Every time he sees me, I get targeted. He doesn't even seem to struggle to see through your damn spell most of the time! If he knows I'm there, I have to run for it."

"The old coot's chasing you down?" Alabaster asked softly, his glare fading into shock. That didn't seem possible. Alabaster had cast the same spell on Ethan that he was using on himself and he'd had a number of run-ins with the Headmaster. Yes, the man seemed to put up a bit of a struggle against the Mist spell plenty of times before, and might have needed a little boost to ensure a perfect illusion, but the most he'd gotten from the old man at the end of it was a slight chiding for being late to class. He never continued chasing Alabaster down. Even without the ability to increased the spell's power himself, the one over Ethan should have overwhelmed Dumbledore's resistance the moment after the Asian guy disappeared from sight. Without a face to focus on, the spell should have no problem whatsoever erasing the abnormality from the wizards' minds.

"The medic too, to a lesser extent." Ethan went on, fidgeting with his side. "I ran into her this morning. She took a minute with a constipated look on her face, but recognition and panic started showing up as I got away. She called after me to come back."

"Her too?" Alabaster cried. He couldn't wrap his head around that one, they hadn't had the slightest bit of trouble with her the other night. She didn't seem to have any mental resistance whatsoever, it was so easy. Though she must have some talent if she was fighting through it now. But still, for these wizards to manage such a thing, they'd a need something to focus on and what stupid stunt could Ethan have possibly...

Unless it wasn't Ethan's doing. "Aww, Perseus!" Groaning, the brunette dropped his face into his hands, moaning a little to himself before running them back into his hair and staring helplessly out the window, right toward the Forbidden Forest. He should have seen that coming. Perseus was the one who'd found Ethan hurt and fainted watching their fellow demigod bleeding out. On top of that, for reasons Alabaster could only speculate at, even his Mist manipulation spells didn't work on him much. Of course he'd panic when he woke up after that. He must have set off the others, given them something to focus on somehow. "Of course, only Seaspray could mess with a plan without even being aware of it."

"Seaspray?" Ethan started, tilting his head questioningly before shaking it off for another time. "You think Perseus broke your spell? Can you do something about that?"

"He didn't break it! The rest of the castle's still giving you pleasant smiles, isn't it?" Alabaster retorted, rolling his eyes. "I'd say the oldies have trained in some mental magical arts and in his fear for you, Perseus has given them the needed awareness to see through it. And no, I don't think I can fix it. Not permanently anyway." He finished with a sigh, rubbing his temples as he sagged down onto a table. "I found a spellbook in the library with memory charms I could incorporate for my magic, but that's risky. I'd most likely wipe their memories completely clean, which would be highly suspicious and dangerous to Perseus' situation, and in the case that I actually managed to only erase the last couple of days, they would wonder how that happened to begin with or Perseus would probably just set them off again anyway, only then they may end up on the lookout for me too."

"Then what can we do?" Ethan asked, his hands and feet constantly twitching as his nerves and ADHD collided. "It sounds like all I can do is leave. But...my wound's still hasn't fully healed and there are too many monsters nearby. I'll be dead within an hour of passing the barrier."

"Which means all that you can do is keep out of sight." Alabaster stated, taking a deep breath to calm himself before setting his eyes firmly on Ethan. "The spell is still active on you and, in time, it will regain a stronger effect on the snow tops. So long as they gain nothing new to focus on, their concern for or about you should decline and be pushed aside for more pressing matters and with it, their ability to resist my spell's affects."

"That's our best option? And I bet you have no clue how long that could take, either." Ethan just sighed as Alabaster just stared at him pointedly. "Great. And the amount of needed time will probably be extended by Perseus too. He's already found me twice."

"Just be careful what you say to him." Alabaster responded moodily, crossing his arms. He wasn't thrilled about sharing Perseus with another demigod, it only made it easier for the guy to discover what he was. His dreams were dangerous enough as it is.

"That would be easier if he wasn't so persistent." Ethan muttered under his breath with an eye roll, before noting the look Alabaster was giving him and changing the subject before he got scolded. "Speaking of him though, you could have told me that he was a freaky big three child!"

"I thought you already knew. He put on a huge display of power at the lake just minutes before you showed up. Even in the forest, you should have noticed that."

"I was a little busy trying to not get eaten to focus on much in the distance. Besides, those trees are thick." Ethan cried defensively.

Alabaster just shrugged in response, though he did raise a curious eyebrow. "How'd you find out then?"

"I stumbled my way into a secret club the students have going last night. They're training for war."

"Yeah. Some twit calling himself the Dark Lord Voldemort came out of the woodwork and the idiots in charge of this society are doing a Zeus and are refusing to believe it. The defence teacher's crippling their education, so the school's hero trio started a fight club. What about it"

"Perseus joined it." Ethan answered slowly, narrowing his eye as Alabaster tensed. That was news to the son of Hecate. It was also risky, especially since Umbridge had gotten in touch with Minister Jackass and were planning for excuses to get rid of him. "He used his powers in a training exercise against the whole group at once. He's good. Very powerful too. Maybe even more so than the Di Angelos.

"It's clear he intends to fight. But there's a problem." Ethan went on, never breaking eye contact. "I doubt could you stop him. And he could be a huge asset to them. But...he'll also quickly die. He's too over-reliant on his powers. He was ready to collapse last night and he fell unconscious from overexertion when he saved me, right? If that happened in a real fight, he'd become an easy target."

"Are you going to get to the point anytime soon?" Alabaster snapped, though dreading it all the same. He couldn't fault Ethan's words, they were all true, he'd long been aware of it. He'd only hoped that the threats that kept Perseus from leaving the school before discouraged him from leaving to fight now, though he didn't put much stock in it. It was clear as day that the sea spray's fatal flaw was loyalty. It was only a matter of time before he threw his life away trying to save others.

"My point is...if you care about keeping him safe and with you as much as you seem to, I'd recommend teaching him to fight without his powers. Like we do." Ethan answered firmly, not giving an inch under Alabaster's dark stare. "Teach him how to use a sword, to punch and kick."

"I can't." Alabaster exclaimed, his voice rising, surprising Ethan as a little desperation broke through. "He has dreams, Ethan! He's seen...I don't know how much he's seen, but I know it's a lot. The comments and looks he has sometimes, I'd say he's probably dreamed more than most. And just the other day, he asked me if I had a sword made of gold! He's seen me fight! And I fought against plenty of demigods. If I prove that I can do it, then I could very easily confirm for him that his dreams really happened! It could reveal our world to him and...what I've done...to my own kind." He finished, grunting as he glared at the ground. "I could lose him to those damn Gods, or I could lose him for being labelled 'the bad guy'. I don't want to lose him. He's..."

"If you don't..." Ethan started softly, taking a few slow steps forward before placing a comforting hand on Alabaster's shoulder. "then you're even more likely to lose him to death. I'm pretty sure that'd be worse, wouldn't it?"

"...Yeah." Alabaster sighed, his whole body sagging in defeat. As much as he'd tried to ignore it and delude himself, there was no getting around that. One way or another, be it a wizard or a monster, Perseus was eventually going to be drawn into a fight. While his powers could save him from a lot, if not most threats, there were limits to his abilities, just as there were to everyone's. Wizards got around their overreliance by only using a little magic in their spells that was focused and boosted by their mediums, but Perseus couldn't do that, so it was imperative that he learned alternate methods of self defense. Something that the magic abusing wizards would never think to learn, much less teach another. He'd have to do it himself. He could only prey to his mother that Perseus wouldn't read too into it.

Even as he thought that, he knew he was kidding himself, but in the end, it was the only hope he had.

* * *

**AN:** Hey all. I hope you enjoyed the latest chapter. So this will be the last chapter for this month. Life's happened and my writing's been the casualty. Plus, I'm also trying to write a couple of other stories. I am aiming for updates to pick up again in July though, so hopefully it won't be too long. Judging from my story outline, I'd say I'm about two chapters away from things getting shaken up a bit and I am keen to get there, so fingers crossed. Thanks again for the reviews and whatnot everyone. As always, they're very much appreciated.

Also Matt the guest user, to answer you question...that story's not in the cards at the moment, sorry. It's not an abandoned story, I don't think any of my unfinished stories/series are, but it's not one of the stories I'm currently motivated to write. Plus, I think I've lost it's outline notes and would have to make them up from scratch. We'll see how that goes.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

The next week had a bit challenging on Perseus' patience. Ethan was proving to be an interesting friend, particularly with his dry sense of humor and his habit of helping or hindering different people in what he called his instinctive need to maintain balance. However, dreams portraying his new friend in a less than positive light were still plaguing him and the guy still seemed far too flighty. He just couldn't avoid how off the situation felt, despite how determined he was to ignore it and the dirt-clad lady visiting him in his sleep.

On top of that, Alabaster had actually become harder to find. Well, that wasn't entirely true, Perseus could always find the freckled Ravenclaw when he wanted to. Ethan too, now that he thought about it. However, the boy seemed to be actively avoiding him most of the time and…almost clingy, in his own way, for the rest of it. That wasn't the right word for it, not even close really, but Perseus just couldn't pick a word that seemed any closer to describing the way Alabaster looked at him in those moments, or the way he suddenly seemed to hold him close. The contrast was mind boggling to the water wielder and left him thoroughly frustrated more often than not. Especially when his increasing number of nightmares were depicting a very vicious Alabaster as well. The lingering third image did not make things any easier to decipher.

And to top it off, Umbridge was being an absolute nightmare. Apparently, someone had been messing with her decree requests and not only was she making up for lost time, setting new ones in place, she was on the warpath, terrorising every person within the castle in her pursuit of the one who'd done it, promising severe retribution when they were caught. Naturally, her eyes went to him far more often than most, as did verbal, not so subtle accusations. She was absolutely convinced it was him, Harry or Dumbledore's doing and seemed to be doing everything in her power to force a confession from them. Something that became infinitely easier with the latest decree forcing all inhabitants of the castle, regardless of their station, to require authorisation of all intentions of using magic of any kind at any time. Even magic used in classes had to be authorised ahead of time, along with every spell that was intended to be used. Simply using an unapproved spell during that time was punishable offense now, as ridiculous as that was.

The only people who weren't restricted were Umbridge herself, Madam Pomfrey and, much to her chagrin, Albus and McGonagall. As the Headmaster and Deputy, it was too imperative that they remain capable of doing their jobs, which could be both urgent and unpredictable. There was often simply no time to go get permission, so they were free to give Umbridge the brush off.

Sadly, Perseus couldn't do the same and had to register when he intended to train, something Umbridge was quick to smugly deny him. She even had the gall to remind him that so much as breathing underwater was considered an act of magic and that she would be keeping a very close eye on the lake. The one pleasure Perseus got out of the whole ordeal was the fact that he could still tell her to go fuck herself before walking away a free man as her smile was replaced with a hideous, red faced look and tirade he blatantly ignored. He'd hear about it from Albus or Minerva later, but it was still worth it.

Of course, that didn't actually stop him from using his powers. Yes, it was a blow to lose such a large source as the lake, but there was hardly a lack of water in Hogwarts and the castle was far too huge to keep everyone under surveillance, something most people had discovered quickly enough. Which was a boon, because now Umbridge was disrupting other classes' curriculums, drastically limiting the spells they could practically teach and making it that much harder to practise them outside of class. Yes, Dumbledore had stepped in and forced Umbridge to set up times spell casting could be practised in the Great Hall, under her supervision, but each year only got one day a week, not nearly enough time to perfect a spell, especially if you're struggling with it. So yes, many students were setting up systems to track the toad and her followers and practise beyond their view. Needless to say, members of the DA were particularly well off. The Room of Requirement was proving to be an absolute Godsend. Especially to Perseus. Not only did he occasionally find Ethan there, in a much more relaxed state than most other times, but it was often the only place Perseus could avoid Umbridge. The woman was more driven than ever to catch him out doing something wrong and make his life miserable.

That was why he was practically running through the corridors right now. Umbridge was in teaching a class, if you could call it that, but she'd sent Filch to practically breathe down his back. Whether he was helping Hagrid settle down an injured thestral colt or struggling through the little studying the teachers still forced him into in the library, he appeared, hovered and sneered. Perseus didn't know what kind of water or earth shaking magic he thought he'd ever consider in a place multiple stories up, full of books and not so much as a goblet in sight, but then, common sense wasn't exactly Filch's strong suit. Though, following and pestering teenagers was his specialty, so it was taking every speck of knowledge Perseus had on the routes and secret passages of the school to avoid him.

Dropping down the stairs and onto the fourth floor, he went to take a left, only to come to an immediate stop with a barely suppressed growl a few seconds later as a very familiar cackle echoed down the halls.

"Peeves. Just what I need!" Of course it had to be the one thorn in his side that could draw every other one to him. Not to mention, the one you literally could not get rid of unless your name was Bloody Barron! If that damn poltergeist found him, then it would probably leave him in desperate need of a shower and right back to dealing with the cranky caretaker's horrid breath.

"Not happening!" He was off again before he'd even started talking, opting for the right side corridor as a cat's shadow appeared down the end of the main hallway. Hoping the transparent nuisance would find the pesky Mrs Norris and bother her instead of him, Perseus took the next left he came across and bolted as quickly as he could, smiling victoriously as the familiar screech of the cat was immediately followed by a loud cackling.

"PEEVES! HOW DARE YOU USE GLUE ON MY CAT! I'LL HAVE YOU TOSSED OUT FOR SURE THIS TIME!"

"And that makes three." Perseus chuckled, letting himself slow to a more casual pace. Filch wasn't going to care about him at all now that had happened to his horrid pet and he had a better chance avoiding the poltergeist if his footsteps weren't echoing down the halls. Besides, despite the cold, drafty weather, he was working up a sweat running from his problems.

Confident that he'd gotten far enough away a few more corners later, Perseus found the nearest bench and sat down, resting his feet as he thought about what to do next. Studying was a bust. It took a lot of built up mental effort for Perseus to open a book he struggled to read and once it was broken, that was it. All well, it was mostly just general reading anyway, attempts to improve his horrible relationship with written words. But he didn't have anything else to do either. His friends were all in class and it was much too late for him to join one. He'd be too much of a distraction. Besides, the closest one was charms and that had gotten a lot more boring since spellcasting restrictions reared their ugly head. He supposed he could go and play in the Room of Requirement, see what he could wish up, but that would mean going back the way he came and risk exposing the school's best secret to Filch of all people. Yeah, no.

Letting a deep sigh escape his lips, Perseus rose to his feet and sentenced himself to simply walking. Maybe he could find Sir Cadogen running around the portraits. He was always good for a laugh. Or maybe the Fat Friar was nearby, you never knew when a ghost would show up. A guy could hope.

His feet quickly ended up following their own aimless path as his mind wondered. His thoughts were moving even faster than usual as his eyes flickered over the portraits. Now that those irritating him weren't right up in his business, his mind was forever slipping back to the damn woman in his nightmares. He couldn't help it, the more he dreamed of her, the more she stuck around in his head. The more her words would rattle him. The more the mere memory of that aura she bore would make him shake. He needed to keep himself well distracted and the portraits were great for that.

Every one of them was a treasure trove of wonder. He often fantasised about what it would be like to join the people depicted flickering through them. The landscapes were so different, so full of different climates and people celebrating so many customs that were so unlike those at Hogwarts. Perseus had taken the time to talk to everyone depicted within the paintings over the years, learning all he could about the people they represented and the adventures or achievements that got them the honour of having their portraits made and placed in a place as sacred as Hogwarts. They were the closest thing he could get to experiencing the outside world and fed his curiosity. Most were kind to him, many enjoy his company. Some, like living humans, found his chaotic attention span too annoying to stay long. But the one's that drew Perseus' curiosity the most were the ones that seemed to revere him or grew wary in his presence. Those kinds of responses came only from older portraits, those that were hundreds of years old. A few were even spiteful toward him, though the Headmaster had demanded that they be nice or leave him be. At first, Perseus had thought it was because he such a hyperactive, young child, that they feared he'd destroy their paintings, but even as he grew older, their behaviour failed to change. So naturally, in classic Perseus fashion, he eventually straight up asked each of them about it. The thing was, to the surprise of all, even they didn't exactly why they acted this way. They all recognised him as something, but they didn't know what, only that he was a being of great importance, be it the kind worthy of worship or spite. Those who liked him were older than those who feared or hated him, so Dumbledore theorised that something unfortunate occurred between his species and theirs, but that was still far too little to go on for it to provide any clues. Sadly, wizards were involved in the vast majority of interspecies disputes, from goblins to giants. Honestly, that route to discovering his nonexistent genetics still led to every known sentient magical being on the planet.

Passing into another hallway, Perseus was just turning toward a portrait of a round table and wondering if the missing Sir Galahad was off climbing the waterfall painting near the History of Magic classroom that he'd had his eye on last week when he felt a slight thrum of energy lightly brush against mind. All thoughts of the portraits forgotten within a second and a giant smile burst across his face as he broke into a sprint. He knew that feeling anywhere.

He could never explain it to another person, but he assumed it was similar to how people talked about him. Plenty had mentioned the sheer power they could feel when they were close to him, coming from his very being. Though this was still different. Perseus didn't need to be nearly as close to feel this one. In fact he always felt it long before he found its bearer. It always felt like it was calling to him, coaxing and leading him to the source.

His glee only grew stronger as he noticed where the sensation was leading him. There were no classrooms in this area, not even unused ones, which meant that he was free to entertain Perseus. As such, Perseus didn't even bother paying attention to what door he was opening as he barged through, turning his head from left to right in search of his prey.

Which was how he quickly realised that this was a bathroom. That was surprising, he'd thought the only places to bathe outside personal quarters or House dormitories were the quidditch changing rooms and the prefects' bathroom, yet sure enough, here was a wall of shower stalls. Though they clearly weren't used too often. The place was far too clean.

Though, as the sound of currently running water proved, some had found and used it. It only took Perseus a second to lock on to the sound of pouring water before making a beeline for the furthest stall.

"You know, Al, this place is pretty far out of the way. One would think you're avoiding someone." Perseus grinned cheekily, snickering as he spotted his very naked friend. "Although considering where we are, I'm starting to wonder if you were hoping to get caught. You did notice the showers in your dorm, right? Or that the stall has a curtain?"

"Hey, you're the one who came looking for me in the shower. I didn't know you were that keen for a look at my ass." Alabaster replied, smirking over his shoulder.

"Oh yes, oh Al, naked and dripping wet! That's so hot, take me now!" Perseus exclaimed as dramatically as he could, throwing his arms out to his sides, looking all ready to glomp the older boy, only to snicker as two other guys covered in mud chose that moment to walk in, freeze with red faced, gobsmacked expressions and back right back out the door.

"I think you might have just traumatized them." Alabaster commented, leaning his head around the stall and chuckling to himself as the door closed.

"Eh, they've gotta figure out puberty eventually." Perseus shrugged, completely unphased. "So where have you been? I've actually had trouble finding you lately. I haven't seen you in two days!"

"That would be because the toad bitch is following you like the plague and I have NEWTS to worry about." Alabaster stated bluntly, though Perseus still caught a slight, apologetic look being sent his way a second later. "It makes it harder to safely break her damn rules if you could lead her to me at any time."

"Oh, of course! Is there any way that wannabe crazy catlady hasn't messed with my life?" Perseus growled, his temper flaring fast, only to force himself to calm down as the pipes rattled.

"You alright there?" Alabaster asked as he turned the water off, dropping his usual facade completely as he turned to the boy, his concern taking over. "I haven't seen you lose control like that before...for a good while, anyway."

"Sorry, I...I've felt a little rattled lately." Perseus sighed, taking another slow, deep breath as Alabaster reached for his towel. Which he simply wrapped around his waist as Perseus placed a hand on his shoulder and instantly willed Alabaster dry before he could even touch the fabric, eliciting a nod in thanks. "Life around the castle is just getting too tense and edgy and I've been having nightmares. Which are really freaking me out because they're like...new angles or scenes from old ones, only with some tall, scary woman suddenly in the middle of them whispering in my ear."

"A tall woman?" Alabaster asked cautiously, his whole body tensing, if only for a second, as Perseus nodded. "Has she been in your dreams before?"

"Not until recently." Perseus answered, frowning at his friend's reaction. It wasn't what he was expecting, especially from Alabaster. He was expecting a mild sense of intrigue into Perseus' fantasies, concern that he wasn't sleeping right and, ultimately, a sudden change of topic. Alabaster always just blew his dreams off. There were some who took them far more seriously, but they usually focused on the entirety of the dream. He'd never once seen someone grow so stiff and focused at the mention of one new character. "She looks similar to another dream figure I've seen before, a queen actually, but no, I've never seen a woman dressed in earth until...about the time I met Ethan."

"Dressed in earth, huh?" Now Perseus was only getting more worried. Alabaster was paling fast, his face turning near distraught. This was like no reaction Perseus had ever gotten before, from anyone, and it definitely wasn't a response Alabaster had ever had any association with. His friend knew something, something big. It almost looked like he knew and was terrified of this woman. Which seemed ridiculous, Perseus hadn't even started describing how she looked, but still, Alabaster was clearly confident he knew something about her appearance and it was filling him with dread. The question was, how and what the hell did he know?

"What does she say?" And just like that, before Perseus could even wrap his head around his own questions, the Alabaster he knew was back. His eyes were sharp, his tone demanding an answer and every bit of his focus was on Perseus. "Tell me, Perseus. It's important."

"Why?" Perseus cried, just as demandingly as his friend. "Why do you care so much about some figment of my imagination?"

"Because we both know your dreams are much more than that!" Alabaster snapped impatiently, his eyes widening a fraction a second later, as if he only just realised what he'd said. However, just as quickly as they changed, they set firmly once again a second later, seeing it through. "You mentioned that your last batch of war dreams started and, until recently mostly occurred during last summer. You once mentioned the Statue of Liberty in the background. That was the time a good chunk of New York went radio silent for days and that never happens! Whatever your dreams are, however your mind warps and twists whatever's going on, they have some higher level connection to the events of the world. This woman may have a similar ability and manipulating your link or she might be a sign of something ominous coming. Now tell me Perseus, what is she telling you?"

"That you and Ethan are threats to me." That came out far blunter and harsher than he'd intended, but to be fair, he was in a bit of shock. Not only had Alabaster noted the nature of his dreams and a real world connection, he hadn't told him a thing! This could change everything to do with how he perceived his dreams. How long had Alabaster been sitting on that connection to New York and not told him? Why had he always dismissed any previous mention of his dreams so casually. Though he didn't initially, did he? He always asked one or two questions, got a few details on something specific, before writing it off. Almost as if he was checking for something. If that was the case... "My dreams show you both being violent. Seriously injuring and leaving other kids defenceless against monsters that devour them. Then she tells me, in various ways, that I shouldn't trust you, that I could be the next victim. Should I be listening?"

"NO!" Alabaster cried, panic blazing through his face as he reach up, placing his hands on Perseus' shoulders as he stared at him imploringly. "Don't listen to her! She's lying, I'll never hurt you. I swear on the...I swear, I'd never do that. You're my friend, my only friend. I care about you too much, the last thing I want to do is lose you."

"Then tell me what do you know about my dreams? And why did you never tell me?" Perseus cried exasperatedly, his breathing growing noticeably faster as he stared Alabaster down. "Why did you always just brush them off if you knew they were borderline prophetic?"

"Because I didn't want you to follow them and die!" Alabaster shouted, freezing Perseus in place. They just stood there, staring wide eyed at each other, for a good minute before Alabaster finally pulled away, taking deep breaths and running his hand over his face as he slowly moved toward his clothes.

"What do you mean?" Perseus asked slowly, doing little more than turning his head to follow him as he worked through the shock. "Why do you think I'd die?"

"You mean besides the fact that you can't get within ten feet of the school barriers without five creatures wanting to make you their lunch?" Alabaster retorted, though with none of his usual snark. He just sounded defeated. "The woman you saw. The earth she wore around her. It was shaped like a toga, right? And the similar woman you'd seen before, she wore a genuine one?"

"Yeah." Perseus nodded. He'd never really thought about that before, but yes, the shape of the earth was a toga. In fact, almost everyone he saw in his dreams who seemed to radiate power or demand worship dressed in similar style.

"Well, obviously I can't confirm it's the same people, but I used to have friends who dreamed of men and women just like that." Alabaster sighed, not even looking at Perseus as he got dressed. "Don't forget, I'm from America, just like you. I guess I had the luck to meet others like you, not that they realised that they were any different from anyone else at first. They described similar dreams to yours. That they were surrounded by monsters or what seemed like pieces of history, or a strange, mythic beast meets modern day deal and all of them felt so real, so detailed, that they thought that they could reach out and touch what was before them. They could actually smell fires and wet fur, sometimes feel the cold, crisp air of a snowstorm, even though it was summer. Then those people started appearing in their dreams. People with regal looks and ancient fashion sense, who radiated power and authority. Some acted nice, like they were doing you favours or giving advice. Others were demanding, telling them to do Gods know what. Some were in between. But all of them acted like my friends owed them their very existence.

"My friends listened to them. Trusted them." Alabaster went on, finally turning back to Perseus and almost breaking the younger boy as he saw the tears in his eyes. "They were convinced that they were real and one by one, they set out to do exactly what they shouldn't. Jobs that should never be asked of children. Jobs that started by running away from their homes, their parents, from all forms of safety. Only coming back if it was in a body bag. Of the three of them, there was the only one I ever saw alive again. Judging from their dreams, and what we know of the 'Forbidden Lands', I don't want to find out what happened to the others.

"And I don't want that for you." Alabaster finished, wiping his tears away as he finally moved in close again. "I thought that if I could keep you from realising just how unusual your dreams are, keep you thinking that they're all just nonsense and coincidences, then maybe I could keep you from listening to those figures. I want you to stay here, where it's safe! Yes, maybe it was the wrong play, but I won't apologise for wanting to do everything I can to protect you. I never want to lose another friend again. I can't."

"...I see." That was all Perseus could manage to force pass his lips as the full weight of that confession hit. That was nothing like what he was expecting to hear. Granted, he had no idea what he'd hear, but that definitely wasn't it. Alabaster knew people like him once. That was absolutely mind blowing all on its own. That meant that there were others like him out there, that they could be found. Though they didn't seem to know what they were either, that part was so strange.

If he was right, then it could explain why he was being painted as a villain in his dreams by this woman. If she was real, perhaps she knew of his past friendships and wanted to prevent him from placing distrust in Perseus' mind, conspiring to do it herself.

'_Not that I ever felt safe near that woman anyway._' Perseus couldn't help but think, shivering at the thought of her. As bad as those dreams made Alabaster and Ethan look, they never came with the full context to begin with and she still felt far more dangerous than all the monsters combined. Her mere presence scared him.

"So basically..." Perseus started, taking a seat against a bench as he wrapped his head around it all. "You think people with this power are mentally manipulated through our strange dreams?"

"Yes." Alabaster nodded, slowly moving forward before hesitantly sitting beside him. "It seemed worse the more you pay attention. Luke used to call out after the puppet masters and they talked back to him the most. Even before he was...gone, he was mentally long gone. You couldn't recognise him anymore. The less attention you pay those bastards, the better off you are."

"You should have told me that. I could have been better prepared."

"Or your knowledge of them could have drawn their attention to you." Alabaster countered, shaking his head. "You never mentioned those people noticing and talking to you before. I didn't want to take the chance."

Perseus supposed he couldn't fault him for that. Which was honestly annoying because he was still frustrated about it. He hated that so much about his own ability was kept from him. There were other people with one of his abilities. They might have been like him, whatever hybrid breed he was. That...

Ok, it wasn't so comforting to know that they were all dead. The name Luke was ringing warning bells too. That was the name of the blond teen he'd seen so often. The one that went from an angry guy to a yellow eyed monster of a person. The boy that was possessed. Was that the same guy Alabaster was talking about? Had he lost his friend recently? That dream happened first in July, did that mean he'd died around that time? If that was the case, then he could definitely understand why Alabaster wanted him nowhere near these...personas.

"So basically, you want me to ignore them." He said softly, bringing a nod from Alabaster. "That's fine, I've been resisting her words anyway. But I'm asking you to be more honest with me for now on."

"I've never lied to you." Alabaster responded, making a point to look him right in the eyes.

"But you've deflected. Hidden things I'm asking about." Perseus retorted, staring piercingly right back. "I'm not asking you to spill your guts and tell me your life story or anything, but if you know something that's going on with me or something about my powers, you gotta tell me. No more sweeping what you don't want me to hear under the rug. Deal?"

"Yeah. Deal." Alabaster conceded, shaking the offered hand. For a good moment, he still looked hesitant and unsure, enough so that Perseus almost verbally questioned his honesty, but it faded away before he could open his mouth, a far more determined expression taking its place.

"In that case, I have some criticism for you."

"Say what?" Perseus cried, eyes wide and blinking rapidly. "When I said I wanted honesty, I didn't mean insults! Feel free to hold those back."

"Constructive criticism." Alabaster drawled, rolling his eyes at his floundering friend. "Like it or not, you're gonna have to get used to that. It's about your abuse of your powers."

"What do you mean 'my abuse'?" Perseus exclaimed, growing more lost by the second and wondering if he should be offended. "What are you talking about? I don't do anything bad with them and I sure don't use them for anything and everything, the way you wizards do!"

"You do when you fight." Alabaster answered immediately, effectively shutting Perseus up. "I know you intend to protect Hogwarts for as long as you're here, and for that purpose, all your training is fine. In this castle, you're well protected and have a large source of water right there for use. If your enemies aren't defeated quickly, the castle's wards and your allies can protect you when you tire. But you intend to leave and fight everything after you.

"You're powers are far stronger than any wizard's could ever hope to be, but the amount of power required to use most of your abilities is a lot more than ours. Your variety is significantly smaller than ours too, making you easier to counter if you don't go big. As a result, your powers, and your body, tire out a lot faster in drawn out fights. In a war, as you are now, you'd eventually become a liability on the battlefield. Even more so than a wizard who lost his wand. At they can still run or apparate away. You'll be almost literal dead weight."

"Well, I'm glad you're taking this honesty thing seriously." Perseus scowled in response, sarcasm dripping in his voice. "And how would you fix this exactly?"

"Simple. Figure out how to do more with less power and learn how to use a weapon. I'd recommend a sword." Alabaster answered.

"A weapon would require a teacher to master. Who's likely to know how to use anything besides a wand around here?"

"Me." Alabaster stated, effectively shutting Perseus up. "That's why I suggested a sword.'

"So you are a swordsman?" Perseus asked, tensing a little as his nightmares flickered through his head again. "But when I asked you about having a sword before-"

"I said it would be ridiculous to have a sword made of gold, not that I couldn't use one." Alabaster interrupted, rolling his eyes. "It is utterly ridiculous! Gold is one of, if not the softest metal in the world. You can bite it and leave teeth marks! And the amount of gold it would take to make a whole sword would cost a fortune. Using it to form a useless weapon, what a waste."

"Ok, I get it! Gold sword dumb, yes, you can sword fight." Perseus butted in quickly, raising his hands in surrender.

"I'm no master, but I can teach you to handle one just fine." Alabaster nodded, leaving Perseus sighing in relief as he let his rant go. "Though I don't know how the teachers around here will take it if we start swinging blades. Especially Umbridge. They're weird like that. They happily teach us to throw fire and blow stuff up, but a knife is a no-go." He scoffed, rolling his eyes again at the absurdity of it all. It was a good point, a student could do a million times worse things with their wands than any weapon, but it was the pointy metal teachers could get iffy about.

But still, Perseus just smiled in response. They could of course, just got to a teacher and asked for supervision, but if Alabaster wanted to do this quietly, then Perseus knew exactly where to go.

"Don't worry bro, I got us covered. Ever heard of the Room of Requirement?"

...

Admittedly, Albus wasn't sure where to stand on this new turn of events. He had finally gained some success, but he was unsure what to do with this new information. He'd felt that way since he'd entered the bathroom.

Subtly tracking Perseus throughout the last week had been difficult, to say the least. After all, he did have a number of duties to perform, most of which he could not perform while wandering the castle. Especially when was following a teenager and didn't want him to know it. Perseus' sporadic decisions and abrupt changes in direction didn't help either. Even Albus couldn't count the number of times the water wielder had almost caught him in the act. It was fortunate that Albus knew how to slink away unnoticed within Hogwarts' walls on a moment's notice and had an excuse for his presence when he simply couldn't.

There was also the fact that following the boy hadn't succeeded in much of anything. Whether by outside circumstances, Perseus' random desires or his presence and intentions being discovered and actively avoided by his target, Alabaster still hadn't been seen. The one time he got a flicker of the boy as Perseus called to him, he'd barely gotten time to note brown hair and a splattering of freckles before the boy was around a corner and Albus had to pull away. He was sure that Alabaster would be wary of him in particular after the events concerning Ethan and he had been much too close. He was at least seen and no matter how aware and concerned the boy was of him, he would no doubt want to put plenty of distance between them.

He was very fortunate this time around. Especially since he hadn't had high hopes at this point in the day, even by his generally low standards. Too few students were out and about, so if Alabaster Torrington wanted to stay below the radar, he'd most likely be blending in with a class. Yet, right as Perseus was openly struggling with boredom and indecision, a big smile pulled at his face and he suddenly marched with all new purpose. Only to burst right into a rarely used bathroom.

At first, Albus came to a complete halt outside the door with a frown, more than a little torn on which route to take. On one end, he was absolutely sure that either Alabaster or Ethan was in there. Perseus had become far too driven to come here and that lined up with what he'd told Albus before, about being able to find either boy when they were close. Another possibility was that Perseus suddenly thought up a prank, but he quickly disregarded the option. This area was too obscure, out of the way. The bathroom was mostly used by Ravenclaws who didn't want to waste time on their tower entrance' riddles or students who didn't want Filch catching them covered in mud. Neither occurred too often and nothing drew other students here. When he did create public mischief, Perseus always wanted an audience. That meant that every answer to his questions was likely right behind that door. All he had to do was enter.

However, there was also a good list of reasons why that would be a bad idea. For a start, the door was already closed, those inside would know someone else entered immediately. The fact that Albus was using an invisibility charm wouldn't deny that fact. In fact, it would only make the situation worse, especially if the school's guests had a way of detecting him. Also, the room only had one exit, meaning that they would most likely feel pinned in. All of that could result in a very volatile situation, not to mention expose his actions to Perseus.

Then there was the other, more general issues with the idea. He was the gay Headmaster, using an invisibility charm to sneak into the boy's bathroom and stalk his, quite possibly naked, students. Even on his best day, without context, that sounded horrible. As it stood right now, with the Ministry looking for the smallest detail they could use to discredit and dispose of him, not to mention what the context would reveal, it was essentially suicidal.

Releasing a deep sigh, he was just conceding defeat and hoping he could gleam enough through the door when two more boys, both filthy, rushed around the corner, making a beeline for the bathroom. Quickly stepping aside, he took half a second to make up his mind as they opened the door before striding in as quickly and quietly as he could before the door slammed shut. Just in time hear Perseus' dramatic exclamation and struggle not to chuckle as the boys slowly backed out. The boy always did love making a spectacle of himself. Though he should remember to talk to him about what rumours he sparked in the castle. If it wasn't for the quick memory charms he cast on the boys as they left, that one would have spread like wildfire and only given Dolores and the Ministry more to work with against him. Fortunately, the boys in the bathroom were too busy with their own conversation to notice the small flashes of magic. With that problem resolved, Albus slowly approached the boys and finally got his first good look at the school's second mysterious guest.

Visibly speaking, the boy looked rather average for the most part. Caucasian, brown hair, he had a bit more muscle than the average wizard, but there wasn't much dramatically different from the rest of his students. He could blend in with ease. His eyes were rather rare, an acid green that stood out quite well between his hair and the splattering of freckles his face, but that and a few light scars over his body were the only real details of note. However, there was no denying that this was the boy Albus had been seeking, for there was no escaping the waves of power rolling from him.

Now that he was close, was paying attention, Alabaster radiated with magic, much like Perseus and Ethan and yet different from both of them. Perseus was without a doubt, the most powerful of the three and his energy felt wild and untamed even in its most peaceful moments, like an ever flowing, raging sea. On the contrary, Ethan, the weakest of the three, had an aura that radiated controlled energy, one that could fluctuate at times, but always balanced out. His was, by far, the most stable of the free. Both of theirs felt so different from what he'd ever felt before them. Then there was Alabaster.

His aura could best be described as a halfway point, in more ways than one. The aura that flowed from him was more powerful and free flowing than Ethan's, but weaker and calmer than Perseus', more cultivated. But what really stunned Albus so much that he almost blew his cover was the fact that the feeling that most separated his aura from the other two felt familiar. Very much so, in fact. It reminded him of the waves of power he felt when he last saw Grindelwald. Tom as well, and if she were here, he was sure that Minerva would associate it with the aura he gave off. While not exactly the same, his power felt astonishingly similar to that of a wizard.

It was an astounding discovery, one that he had by no means been prepared for, but one he would have to note and mull over later, for the boys' conversation was already well underway and the pipes were rattling! Perseus had not lost control in many years, whatever was bothering him had to be significant.

His list of problems was hardly a surprise to Albus of course, in fact it was mostly expected. Enough so that he merely waved it off with the intention of getting Perseus more time away from Umbridge and her assistants and talk to Poppy about a her attempts to find stronger dreamless sleep potions. Even a new character being depicted was hardly an unexpected development. However, his concern grew greatly as he saw it. It was only for a second, but there was pure fear in Alabaster's eyes, his whole body tensing before he caught himself and forced himself to relax, growing very guarded as he asked about this new woman. It was at this point that Albus decided to take his biggest risk. Raising his wand, he pointed it straight at Alabaster's chest and silently cast a compulsion charm.

It was a simple spell and one that shown no light as it was cast. It was also one of the few spells that he could and did occasionally use on Perseus successfully, though it had a much less significant effect. It dulled Perseus' inhibitions just enough to make him admit a few details he normally wouldn't when he did something wrong, though it would only last a moment and required a significant amount of power to work. But still, it got the results he needed, the initial admittance leading to the rest of the revelation long after the spell waned and was never noticed by the boy. He could only hope Alabaster was similar enough for the same results.

It was a tense moment or two for the old man after that, but he manage to release a silent, sigh of relief. As hoped, it worked much the same on the new enigma and the young man still seemed oblivious to its use. Perseus' reaction to his questions and answers made sure both of that and that everything revealed was explained. And wasn't that a significant little explosion of information.

Albus watched like hawk the entirety of the time they were talking, burning every detail, whether verbal, physical or emotional, to his memory. It wasn't until long after they left that he finally exited the bathroom and made his way to his office. There was no point in following Perseus any longer today. He had gotten all he was going to get and honestly, it was more than enough for him.

Placing the memory in his Pensieve, he reviewed it again and again, connecting every dot he could, checking for every detail he might have missed before. There was so much to understand.

Perseus' dreams had some semblance of prophetic ability. That was more of a confirmation than something new, but it was good to get it. Especially with the extra details. It was certainly intriguing that others could have these dreams as well. It appeared that while Perseus was the only one of his kind, there were similar breeds. Or similar human hybrids. Perhaps their non-human parents were of related subspecies. But still, their fates did not sound promising. Then there was exactly what Perseus has been seeing and what they connect to. Alabaster said the very place Perseus had been dreaming of went quiet for days at the same time the city attack dreams began. He would have to ask his Muggle contacts to look into that for him, see if he could determine just how accurate Perseus' dreams were. Not to mention the rolls Alabaster and Ethan played in them. They may be more volatile than Albus previously believed. If the dreams of Alabaster in particular hold truth, then he may have great need to worry. He could be very keen for annihilation. Or more open to Tom's intentions. Not to mention valuable. If the dreams were reliable depictions, Alabaster may very well know how to control hordes of monsters.

However even that was not was not the most chilling prospect to be divulged. No, it was this new woman, the fear she inflicted on the well trained and experienced hybrid and the implications of all she represented that rattled him.

Higher powers could manipulate Perseus' dreams if they became aware of him. That was an incredibly dangerous prospect. Especially since it seemed that one was already trying. Who knew what she truly wanted of him? What she could try to manipulate him into doing? Judging from what Perseus was saying, it was clear that currently she was trying to drive a wedge between Perseus and the mysterious duo, but whether that was to a positive or negative end for them or wizard kind was anyone's guess. There was no telling whether following her actions would lead to peace or war. Or either way, where they could drive Perseus next. Was this woman an alley or enemy? Were Alabaster and Ethan meant to be friends or foes? Were they true threats or was this woman simply trying to make them appear that way? What did she have to gain from this involvement? Who should trust be placed in?

He pondered this for a long time. There was no clear answer. Too little was still known, far too much was guess work. Even the boys' actions in Perseus' dreams, even if they were true, were hardly true evidence. As horrible as they looked, the events are within an all-out war. Without context there was no way of determining who should be declared a villain or hero. From what he'd gleamed, Ethan in particular was actually very hesitant to do life threatening damage, mostly repelling and running. It was more than enough for Albus to question what was being seen. The fact that Alabaster cared so much about Perseus' safety was another solid argument. To go so far as to make him aware of his weaknesses, to help him learn other ways to protect himself, but only after he conceded to the fact that he couldn't stop Perseus from eventually finding trouble...at the very least, Perseus was precious to him. Even without legimency or compulsion charms, Albus could see that plain as day. Perseus had frequently commented that Alabaster could be hard to read or closed off, but in that moment the boy was as open and vulnerable as it gets. At the very least, Perseus was safe with him. He was sure it.

Which suggested, once again, that the woman truly was the one to fear most. She was manipulative, planted seeds within the mind from within the mind itself. She focused Perseus' attention on pain, destruction and mayhem. And she was dressed in earth.

That was a key fact, one he could not ignore. Not when everything else seemed to be unveiling just as it was predicted. Perseus walked the halls of Hogwarts. Two young men have appeared from his place of origin. Tensions were high and war could so easily be unleashed from multiple angles. And now, a woman in earth from a group of beings accused of driving hybrids similar to Perseus to their deaths was making a move.

"The earth the snake shall unknowingly aid." Albus sighed, saying the last line along with the memory of Trelawney in the Pensieve. It was very possible that this woman was the one being represented by earth in the prophecy and that line always felt the most ominous to Albus. A promised event, one that was growing more solidly negative.

Letting out another deep sigh, Albus closed his eyes and dropped his face into his hands, his whole body sagging. This was last thing he needed. He had hoped getting to know Alabaster would allow him the insight to determine a course of action. Instead, the answers obtained only led to continued uncertainty on the general field and all but declared that time was running out. Almost every player of the prophecy seemed to be accounted for within the school's walls, one way or another. One small spark was all that was needed to set this off, one mistake or one detail noticed. With tensions so high and eyes scrutinising everything, looking for anything they could exploit, it could happen at any moment. Yet Albus couldn't hope to be ready any time soon and if he tried a more proactive approach, he would no doubt set off the very thing he was trying to prolong.

Another long sigh left his lips as he stared at the table, feeling older and more helpless than he'd ever felt before. Without a miracle, there was nothing more he could do right now, except hope it ultimately worked out. And that if he failed, then Ethan and Alabaster or someone could protect Perseus. The one who would be trapped in the middle of it all as his life falls apart.

* * *

**AN:** Sorry this took so long. Life went nuts for a while. I hope you enjoyed the newest chapter.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

The next two weeks were easily the most taxing of Perseus' life. True, he put himself through his paces all the time and frequently passed out from exhaustion, but this was quite different. Mass energy consumption and the mental exhaustion of splitting his focus for extended periods of time did leave him gasping and sleepy, but wielding a heavy blade was another thing entirely. Merely holding the sword was a great deal more of a strain on his muscles and Alabaster was a fierce teacher. To put it simply, Perseus could dodge, parry and strike hard and fast or he could take a beating.

"Come on, you should find this counter easy by now!" Alabaster grunted, swinging Perseus' sword away with an upward slash to his right before quickly moving his back and thrusting it into a stab. Perseus just grinned in response as he used the momentum of Alabaster's first strike to step back and pivot, easily dodging the blade, and moved smoothly into a full spin before striking down on it with his own. With the sword ripped from Alabaster's hands, Perseus twisted his grip and aimed for his neck, however, before the blade could reach its target, a flash of purple consumed Perseus' vision and struck him hard in the chest, flinging him across the room.

"Augh!" Luckily, he did crash onto a mat, but they only helped so much. Crashing into the ground still hurt like hell, especially when you sent flying by a force comparable to a sledge hammer. As much as his back ached, his chest felt twice as bad.

"Not bad, but you got cocky." Said Alabaster, not moving an inch from his place. "I told you, your enemies aren't going to play fair. Never assume you've won until your opponent is dead or unconscious and never drop your guard."

"Funny you should say that." Perseus grinned back, albeit with a wince. Nodding his toward Alabaster's left, he watched with a growing smile as the boy looked down to find his throat surrounded by water. Chuckling to himself, Perseus had it restrict with a wave of his finger until it was firmly placed against skin before sending it back to the fountain across the room. "I think that's a tie."

"I suppose so." Alabaster conceded with a sigh that could not quite hide the pride on his face as he made his way over, offering Perseus a hand. "On a technicality. My shot landed."

"But I'm still conscious and mine was still ready to kill if I had to." Perseus retorted cheekily as took the hand, slowly pulling himself to his feet. "That could be taken as I won."

"My shot was at your heart. If I wanted you dead, you would be." Alabaster shot right back.

"Ok boys, enough with the macho act." Said Ethan, placing a hand on each of their shoulders and pushing them away from each other before gently pushing Perseus onto a chair. "Let me check the point of impact before you try to kill each other again. That spell had a lot of force behind it." He added, throwing a glare over his shoulder as he lifted the front of Perseus' shirt.

Perseus just took a deep breath and relaxed at that. It was easier just to let Ethan fuss over him and he could definitely use the break. His whole body ached and he was more out of breath than he'd been letting on. Bruises covered his arms and he was sweating so much that he probably could have used it to collar Alabaster instead of the fountain water if he'd wanted to. It would serve him right, that spell hurt like hell and his back didn't feel like moving much right now either. A feeling he'd grown far too used to over the last two weeks.

But still, Perseus was loving every minute of these sessions. It was exhilarating in a way Perseus had never experienced before.

Alabaster was fierce teacher. When they sparred, he came at him hard and fast, unrelenting and near merciless, but he was also careful and surprisingly patient. He never did anything he hadn't covered a counter to before a match and took a lot of time ensuring Perseus not only knew how to properly execute a strike or block perfectly, but also understood in which exact situations each move would be most useful. Nothing dangerous was even considered before Perseus mastered the moves they'd be using, to point of being able to perform and transition through them without thinking, so even when Alabaster was going for the kill shot, he always felt safe.

He'd even taken to teaching Perseus other little tricks too, the type that don't involve a sword. The kind of things that reminded the water wielder of Mad Eye Moody's style and branded 'constant vigilance' motto. Alabaster apparently kept his wand tucked under his sleeve, for he frequently would strike with quick spells at unknown times. They could be as forceful as the one that had struck him down this time, but more often than not, they were a lot more subtle. A spell to twist his hand a little in the wrong direction, one that tied his shoelaces together, one that disrupted his sense of balance and even a simple, but bright Lumos spell right in his eyes. They initially came out of nowhere and had Perseus whining about him cheating, but Alabaster just told him to grow up. That there was no point preparing for a fair fight when his enemies would never give him one. So, of course, instead of complaining, it was better he learned to predict them and learn some of his own. Which was where power play came in.

Honestly, Alabaster didn't have to teach him much about that, he'd been doing it for years. He was even quite creative with his techniques with water. However, the elder boy did help him break some of his habits. Specifically, the amount of power he used.

Perseus had always used good chunks of his strength every time he used it. He could wield so much power at once, he'd never once thought about what he could do with just a little. Fortunately, Alabaster had plenty of ideas. Making a small puddle for his enemies to slip on, a snitch sized ball to strike at weak points, like the back of the knees, or a mere slither to make a cut or smack an eye. They could all be done quickly, subtly and, most importantly, with small amounts of power. He could even increase his own mobility by merely creating small puddles on the bottom of his shoes to slide around on like an ice skater, rather than make streams. It had taken Perseus a few days to adjust to the difference, but the results were well and truly worth it. He was even forever looking for new pieces of inspiration for this 'less is more' strategy and quite enjoyed tripping Alabaster up as he experimented with them.

"Well, it doesn't seem like anything's broken." Said Ethan as his fingers felt around Perseus' ribs and back, immediately lightening the pressure a second later as Perseus jolted up. "Though you're going to feel that in the morning. Those back muscles are pretty tender. You've come down on them wrong."

"I didn't exactly have much control of how I landed." Perseus grunted, pulling himself from the chair before abruptly dropping into the water fountain, a sigh of relief immediately leaving his lips as his body was submerged. His gratitude to the healing affects of water on his body knew no bounds.

"And that's what we'll be learning tomorrow night." Alabaster stated as he placed the swords back on their stand, effectively declaring training over. Perseus wasn't sure if that made him feel relieved or disappointed. "How you position yourself for the landing can make or break you. At the very least, you make sure you don't come down on something vital. Like your spine." He added with a poke right on the center of Perseus', bringing a gasp from his mouth.

"Hey!"

"You've felt worse. Don't be a wimp."

"I've also felt better. Don't be a jerk." Perseus snapped back, only to get an eye roll from his tormenter and an amused shake of the head from Ethan. That only made him pout a little. Could you blame him for feeling a little betrayed by the Hufflepuff's lack of sympathy?

He didn't have it in him to stay that way for long, however. He never could when he caught Ethan and Alabaster sharing their amusement.

It honestly had surprised Perseus quite a bit when they admitted to knowing each other. Alabaster was such a loner, Perseus was confident that he was the only friend the guy had in the school. Especially after what Alabaster had admitted to him. However, when he'd arrived for their third night of training, it was to find the one eyed wizard right beside him, claiming that Alabaster had asked for his help teaching Perseus.

That's not the same as saying that the two of them were friends, Perseus quickly discovered. Their relationship was definitely a lot more businesslike. It often felt like there was some tension in the air, like they weren't really sure how to act with each other. Ethan was clearly worried that he was going to set Alabaster off one way or another and tended to skirt around most interactions, while Alabaster just didn't seem to know how to talk to Ethan and opted to do so as little and gruffly as possible.

However, that was, much to Perseus' happiness, changing. Ethan's success at not being verbally assaulted had allowed him to relax and prod more, even put his foot down with the fiercer wizard. In return, Alabaster became overall more vocal, to the point of asking for Ethan's opinion, though still always looking like he'd swallowed a lemon in the process. Progress was slower than Perseus liked, but in the last few days they'd gotten to the point of grinning and chuckling together. Hell, Alabaster even shared a few jokes with the one eyed wizard, even if they were mostly at Perseus' expanse. Perseus could handle his flailing being the bud of the joke if it meant his friends were bonding. Merlin knew they both needed more people they could relax with and enjoy having around. Ethan wasn't nearly as much of a loner as Alabaster, but he was so jumpy and unsure with most people. It was absolutely unbelievable that he chose the guarded, snarky Alabaster Torrington of all people to break that habit with, but Perseus was not going to question it.

"So, speaking of plans and being through worse, what are you guys planning for the holidays?" Perseus asked as he shifted into a floating position. If training was over for the night, he might as well try to keep this budding friendship going strong.

"What do you mean?" Ethan asked, looking a lot more confused than Perseus expected.

"You know, Christmas?" Perseus replied, tilting his head up with a raised eyebrow. "The annual holiday everyone's preparing for? What, did you miss the snow and the giant Christmas trees in the Great Hall? I'd assume that you've been thinking about going home. Like everyone else." He added under his breath, hoping they didn't notice the small bout of sadness he couldn't quite keep out of his voice at that thought. Almost everyone was going home this year. Even those who normally stayed behind were putting in the extra effort to get away. Hogwarts just wasn't all that nice a place to be anymore. Umbridge and the Ministry's smear campaigns had made sure of that.

"Oh, right. I guess I haven't been giving it much thought." Ethan shrugged awkwardly.

"Seriously? How is that possible? Everywhere you go, there's students going on about their chance to escape 'the oppression'." Perseus cried, sitting back up with an exasperated look pointed right for Ethan.

"Yeah well, I've managed to stay under Umbridge's radar." Ethan replied with a shrug. "I mean yeah, she's a class A bitch and all, but I've managed to avoid her and her crap for the most part. And it's not like I have any reason to go home. My dad dumped me into the hands of relatives that don't really care about me and never came back. Going back to them could be...awkward and most likely hazardous. I'm better off here."

"I haven't got any reason to go home either. You already know what I'd be going back to." Alabaster stated, his eyes darkening at the mere thought. "In addition to that, my Mom's family disowned me and all of it has given me a strained relationship with my Dad. I'm not going anywhere near any of that. I'm not welcome anymore."

"Oh. I'm sorry." Said Perseus with a flinch. He didn't mean to ruin their good moods and stir up open wounds. He only felt guiltier as a small part simply grew happy that they were sticking around.

"Dude, chill. You didn't know." Said Ethan, placing a hand on his shoulder with a gentle squeeze. "It's not like we advertise this sort of stuff and it's nothing new, to me at least. We're cool."

"No sense stressing over it." Alabaster shrugged. "It is what it is and you didn't cause it. Our families just suck."

"Clearly. Well, they're the ones missing out." Perseus declared, offering them the brightest grin he could manage. Their reassurances aside, both of them still looked a bit forlorn. It made giving up his guilt and sorrow for them harder than he knew they wanted. But still, at least he wouldn't be alone over the holiday and neither would they. He'd make sure of that. That was definitely worth smiling about.

...

Oh, this was just terrific! Ethan couldn't believe that he'd forgotten that a major holiday was coming up. That was going to be a disaster.

Ethan barely slept the night before and he had no doubts that it showed. He'd kept it under wraps while the three of them continued talking, teasing and making plans, but the little bombshell Perseus had unleashed was driving him straight to a panic attack.

Perseus was spot on, after all. The students getting to go home for the holiday and Umbridge terrorising the place meant that all of them were trying as desperately as they could to get out. Now that he was paying attention, the kids were almost constantly chatting about their plans, from the great trips their parents were going to take them on to begging their parents to take them on their business ventures. Almost none of them were sticking around the castle.

Which meant that the danger to Ethan was about to rise exponentially.

Alabaster's spell worked by letting him blend in with a crowd, which is a pretty difficult feat when there wasn't one. Alabaster wasn't in too much extra danger because he could reinforce his spell and had an entire arsenal of other ones that could fix the problem, but Ethan had basically nothing to work with. Well, nothing good and reliable anyway.

'_Maybe I should tweak my scale to really bad now._' He thought as he tiredly brought his goblet to his mouth and skulled his pumpkin juice, growling at the fact that it wasn't coffee. '_Maybe if I generate enough bad luck for myself now, I'll be due for enough good luck while everyone's gone._' It was a horrible idea, really. The kind of bad luck he'd need to balance out that kind of scale would probably get him busted, tortured and locked away before it could ever hope to get the good stuff.

He was simply far too likely to be caught. The old man and the nurse were already actively looking for him. He was starting to grow a lot more suspicious of the cat lady too. He kept feeling eyes on him and she never seemed that far away. It was too many little things for his mind to ignore. With no one to hide amongst, they were going to catch him in no time.

His best plan was to ride the holiday out in the Room of Requirement. The teachers didn't seem to know about it and with most of the student body gone, he shouldn't be bothered. He almost never was even now. He'd been using the place to hide, rest and sleep ever since that DA meeting and those were the only time anyone ever entered them. Until Alabaster came by and discovered him one night anyway, claiming Perseus told him about the room and intended to use it for combat lessons. Perseus arrived a few minutes later and that's how he'd been accidentally roped in to helping train the water wielder. It also provided the biggest flaw in the hiding plan. He and Perseus had grown too close and he knew Ethan was sticking around, so he'd expect to see him a lot. What's more, spending time with Perseus with so few others around was only asking for even more attention from the teachers, especially Dumbledore. The old man always had an eye on the sea prince.

'_Maybe I should have claimed to be going home and hid out near the town or something._' Surely dodging monsters would be easier than these wizards, right? Oh yeah, he could avoid them all, he'd just have to pick one to hide in the stomach of. That probably wasn't his best idea.

"You seem a little down this morning. Everything ok, Ethan?" A voice called, jolting Ethan back to the present as a Hufflepuff boy sat down in front of him.

"Yeah, Justin, I'm fine. Just...dreading the extra scrutiny I'm about to get from the toad lady." Ethan sighed, moving to grab some pancakes.

"You have my sympathy." Hannah Abbot said sombrely, placing a hand on her heart. "As do all who are stuck with her over the holidays. What a way to ruin the season, it should be crime."

"Her 'teaching' here is a crime." Ernie MacMillan stated, turning a subtle, but scathing eye at the pink abomination in question before turning a far more compassionate look to Ethan. "Are you sure you don't want to come with me? It would be no hassle, I assure you."

"Thanks, I appreciate it, but it just wouldn't feel right." Ethan grinned as he shook his head. "I'll just hide out in the Room of Requirement. Besides, someone's gotta be here for poor Perseus."

"Ah yes, the poor bloke." Justin nodded. "Never has being unable to leave the school felt so bleak. I could only imagine the bull that toad puts him through. You're a good friend, Ethan."

"Thanks, I try." Ethan smiled as the group turned back to their food. This was all a very new and very unexpected recent development. One that had terrified him when it started last week. Ethan had snuck into the library one day and taken a seat amongst a group of students only for Ernie to greet him. There'd been no prompting, no Perseus, nothing to draw attention to him except the fact that now he occupied a chair. The result was that he'd ended up so panicked that the spell hiding him had broken that he found himself hyperventilating. Which only caused Ernie to grow worried about him, drawing the rest of the table's attention and almost had him going to get the librarian before Ethan finally got control of himself. That had been an awkward and difficult situation to explain away and even more of a troubling one when he seeked out Alabaster later.

Naturally, the first thing the witch boy did was check the spell, only to find that it was fine. As such, he didn't know what to make of it, or how to fix the problem. This was uncharted territory, the spell had never been used for so long in the same environment. It was meant for hiding as you moved through a crowd, not for long term stays with the same people. The best Alabaster could speculate was that Perseus had drawn attention to him in front of and caused interaction with Ernie too many times for the spell to work the same way. Though he still didn't realise that Ethan was a new face, he did notice his presence and thought of him as a friend. Alabaster encouraged him to keep his distance from Ernie, but that proved harder than Ethan expected and the damage was done. He kept bumping into Ernie and often accepted offered conversations with him and his friends to avoid the people looking for him. Before long, Hannah and Justin were just as capable of remembering him and would frequently invite him to do things with them as well, something that only made Alabaster more concerned when he found out. The son of Hecate almost went and erased their memories, however, at the last second, Ethan begged him not to.

He couldn't help it. he'd grown to like them. They were kind, passionate and didn't expect anything from him but friendship. Perseus was great and Alabaster was warming up to him nicely, but with these three...he didn't have to watch his words much. They weren't burned by war, abandonment and betrayal. It just felt so good to be with them, to smile and laugh with them, to have people he could be so free with. He didn't want to give it up.

It was a risky move, he knew that. Alabaster had made sure he was aware of the potential consequences. The more these three spent time with him, the more likely that they may very well break through the spell completely. If that happened, it would depend of what they thought of him, but it was possible that all Hades would break loose. But it was a risk he was willing to take. They were worth it and so was the sense of normalcy and the companionship they gave him. If they did discover the truth, he just hoped that they'd listen to his explanation. As it stood he'd stunned even himself when he actually dared to hope that they'd help him. To have that kind of faith in wizards. It was preposterous for a Demigod and yet here he was.

"Yo, Ethan!" Though speaking of Demigods, Perseus had chosen that moment to arrive, sitting down next to Justin with a big, hopeful smile on his face.

"Morning, mate." Ethan smiled, rolling the word experimentally over his tongue. It still felt odd to him to be honest.

"Hey Perseus. What has you so bright eyed?" Justin greeted, bringing a piece of toast to his mouth.

"Morning everyone." Perseus grinned, nodding to each member of the group before turning his attention back to Ethan. "Ethan, you have a free period after lunch, right?"

"Yes?" Ethan nodded slowly, the answer coming out far more like a question than he liked as he tried to hide his concern. That sounded like trouble. He wasn't sure where Perseus got that idea from, but if the water wielder was starting to file Ethan's 'routine' in his head then Ethan needed to make and stick to one fast. Preferably one that already matched whatever Perseus already perceived.

"Cool, then could we meet up for an extra lesson?" Perseus asked, flashing his puppy dog eyes. "I wanna learn hand twisting thing you used to disarm me the other day."

"I thought tonight's lesson was how to adjust a fall?"

"Yeah, but if I can make Alabaster be the one to suddenly hit the dirt, that would make my day." Perseus replied, not missing a beat. "Come on, please? I wanna pay him back for that hidden wand trick he keeps pulling in our sword fights."

"Wait, what?" Ernie cried, thoroughly confused as he put his hands in the air. "Sword fights? Hand twisting? Perseus, Ethan, what have you two being getting up to?"

"Non magical combat training." Perseus answered instantly with a grin before Ethan could stop him. "My friend, Alabaster, noticed I use too much power when I fight and thought it would be best to learn other methods of self defence. So he teaches me how to use a sword and got Ethan to teach me hand to hand combat. He's scary good at it and just as good a teacher."

"No, you just have natural talent for the manoeuvring aspects." Ethan shook his head. There were definitely better teachers than him. Better fighters too. "I'm not exactly a big deal."

"Sure you are! You're amazing." Perseus exclaimed, moving his head in close as if trying to will Ethan to believe it with his eyes. "I haven't taken you down once yet and neither has Alabaster. Even with his sword in hand."

"You're a beginner and Alabaster's too used to using magic as backup." Ethan argued.

"You're still amazing!"

"The whole idea is amazing!" Justin cried excitedly, breaking them up as he leaned in too. "It's a pretty smart idea too. Think I could join in on the lessons? I know beginner karate, but it'd be awesome to up my skills."

"I'd be game to join too if I could." Hannah nodded, albeit with a bit more restraint than Justin. "I never thought about it before, but it sounds practical. You could still potentially save yourself if you were disarmed."

"Yeah! By that logic, maybe you should give some lessons to the DA." Ernie exclaimed, giving the now very flustered Ethan a proud smile. "After all, it's all about self defence. If we lose our wand, it would be another potential avenue for survival until we could get it back. I'm sure Harry would be all for it if we ask."

"Whoa, whoa, let's not go too crazy here!" Ethan cried, waving his hands around wildly as a mild panic started setting in. "I'm not actually that good! And besides, teaching a single person is way easier than teaching a few dozen. I don't know if I even could! In case you haven't noticed, I'm not exactly a socialite. You four...and Alabaster," He added, mentally cringing as he thought about how the witch boy would respond to his name being brought up here again. "are the only people I even talk to. How do you expect me to teach a class?"

"Ok, fair enough." Justin nodded, though he still had a hopeful grin matching Perseus' on his face, so there was no doubt in Ethan's mind as to what was coming next. "So then how about you start by teaching the four of us? We're people you're comfortable talking to, we're a low number and at varying levels of skill. It's great practice and if it goes well, we can talk to Potter about you teaching more of us. Come on, what do you say?"

"Please say yes." Hannah asked.

"Yeah, Ethan! it'll be great!" Percy chimed in. "We might even get Alabaster some more friends."

"What do you say? You'd help your friends out, wouldn't you, good chap?" Ernie pressed.

Ethan just stared at them for a good moment, completely lost on what to do. This would mean spending even more time with the trio, which, rather than joining in and befriending like Perseus was hoping, would only make Alabaster more irritable. That was a bad thing, he'd already covered the risk. He had plenty of reasons to say no. However, as they all stared at him, so brightly and keen, waiting for his answer...

"You three are going to have to do a lot more than just learn to punch and kick." He just didn't want to refuse them. So, taking a deep breath, he gave them all a smirk as he looked them over one by one. "None of you are nearly fit enough to intend to use martial arts in serious confrontations. You're going to have to work at getting as buff as Perseus, at the least."

"So we'll take that as a yes?" Justin smiled.

"From me? Yeah." Ethan nodded, earning a cheer from quartet around him. "Don't celebrate just yet, dudes and dudette. Like I said, we need to get you in shape. You're probably not going to be too frilled with me when you see your exercise routines."

"Bring it on." Ernie retorted, puffing up his chest. "We don't back off from a little hard work."

"A little. Right. Keep believing that." Ethan chuckled, staring over the group one more time before returning his attention to his plate. "And you've got your wish too, Perseus. I'll meet you in the room right after lunch."

"Sweet!" Perseus exclaimed, punching a fist into the air. Ethan just grinned as the water wielder started telling the others about everything he'd learned so far, only getting the trio more excited the more he went on. Watching the four of them, feeling so much a part of the group, it had Ethan relaxing that he hadn't done once since...well he couldn't remember when. Maybe he'd never been this relaxed.

Who would have thought he'd ever feel this at peace. That in wizard territory, of all places, if only for a moment at a time, he would actually feel welcomed.

...

Minerva honestly couldn't remember the last time that she'd felt like such a failure. Never in her entire career, not even the years teaching James and Sirius or the Weasley twins, had she ever had nearly this much trouble tracking down a single student. It was embarrassing.

Fortunately, the only person that knew about it was Albus himself and it was because he had failed so badly that she was put on the case to begin with. Honestly, that fact did make her feel a little better, but she'd keep that to herself.

"So your attempts of observation have not gone as well as we'd hoped?" Albus sighed, as he offered her the thousandth lemon drop she declined.

"I'm afraid that's the case." Minerva conceded. "Though I have managed to watch the boy from a distance. Though he joins groups constantly, he rarely interacts with them. On the rare cases he does, he is only kind or uncomfortable. I can tell enough that we are dealing with a very scared young man, but I have yet to see anything that suggests that he is in any way dangerous, so that is a benefit. However," She added, her voice growing far more serious. "the boy is showing signs of both PTSD and a level of spatial awareness and instinct that I would expect to find in a seasoned Auror. This boy has seen been in danger and been trained to handle it, of that I can assure you."

"Which aligns with both Perseus' dreams and the information I managed to gain from Mr Torrington." Albus nodded, resting his chin in his hands as his eyes turned sombre. "Perseus has dreamed about both boys amongst other teenagers and monstrous armies. Alabaster has admitted to him that his friends, like Perseus, had unusual dreams that encouraged them to take off. He is still hiding what he is from Perseus, but I assume he has them too. He mentioned that all his friends had terrible ends and that he kept all of this from Perseus because he was afraid that certain depictions within the dreams would take Perseus from him too. With the information we have gathered, I'd say that Mr Torrington certainly did take part in this war as well and has been rather scarred by it, enough so to flee."

"Oh, good Merlin." Minerva gasped, paling considerably as the sheer horror passed over her. Something was drawing kids right into battlefields? Ethan was, at best, seventeen years old and he'd already been conscripted long enough to show the signs of turning into Alaster Moody? That was atrocious! Children were to be protected and nurtured, not made into weapons to fight monsters. Or each other! She'd heard about plenty of Perseus' dreams and if they were truly real, as it became more apparent the more they looked into their new guests, then they had been pawns on both sides! Children forced to fight and kill other children. "If that's the case, Albus...those poor boys...and who knows how many others...if this does become war between our 'worlds' as the prophecy called it...who could be so heartless, Albus? What are we going to do if this goes wrong? How could we possibly..."

"We start by making sure it doesn't go wrong." Albus interrupted her, placing a comforting hand on her own. Though he looked just as scared and forlorn as she felt. This was not something that was easy to hear and to be forced to consider fighting children, powerful as they may be...would they even know what they were fighting for? What could even drive two different armies of different magical creatures together like Perseus' dreams suggested? Minerva truly had no idea.

"I believe it may be time to make Perseus aware of the prophecy." Albus declared a moment later, tightening his grip on Minerva's hand as he ripped her from her thoughts.

"You want to place that burden upon him now?" Minerva cried, staring in disbelief as Albus merely nodded. "Albus, you do realise what this could do to him and the other boys, correct? If you tell him this, then you would have to explain everything about the others. You could break Perseus' trust in them and from there, it could only grow more volatile. If he exposes them, inadvertently or otherwise, it will be a disaster. If he lashes out for the lies...Albus, we don't know how these boys can trigger peace or war, but I do know that, for their friendship's best interest, the truth of the boys' identities needs to come from them."

"Trust me Minerva, I am not making this suggestion lightly." Albus replied, somehow looking ten years older as he sighed. "I would love, and have strived, to keep Perseus from ever hearing the prophecy at all. It would much less of a burden to him if he could perform what fate has asked of him without being aware of it. If he could merely be friendly with these unknown people and casually unite us into mending our apparent rift, I would strive with every fibre of my being to make it a reality. However, that is not the hand we have been dealt. Our current strategy has given us all it shall yield. It has however, informed us that the children are used as weapons by elders who coax them from their subconscious and we have two new young ones fleeing from them in our school, acting as the shadows of the prophecy. It is therefore very possible that the key to stopping a war between these people is to provide safety and compassion to their children. However, we cannot be clear with our intention if we cannot speak to them and we cannot do so publically without exposing them, which would not go well for anyone. As such, our only hope is Perseus knowingly bridging us together. The boys must feel that they can trust us and this truly is the only peaceful and inviting way I can think of making that a reality."

As much as Minerva wanted to argue, he had a point. Pinning the boys down would be taken hostilely. A public declaration would not only risk them panicking and causing damage. Umbridge, and many students, would not only see them as intruders, but would also attack, fire and possibly attempt to imprison Albus and anyone else they could accuse of knowing about the boys' prolonged existence in the castle, effectively ruining any chance of peace. the Wizarding World's tension and Albus' tarnished credibility were simply far too much to survive this right now. Every route she could think of ended the same and only progressed to even worse situations as the Ministry, the panicking public and the Dark Lord got themselves involved. In the end, Albus was right. The only way this could end well was if Perseus could pass the olive branch and do it subtly enough to hide it from the rest of the world until they were presented with more accommodating circumstances and that would require him being in the know. As small a hope this was. As things stood, Minerva could not see how this could end well, but if they could get a peaceful start under the radar, maybe a decent opportunity would show up later. "I pray that you are right, Albus. This is a very big risk."

"As do I, Minerva. As do I."

...

Dinner that night was buzzing with excitement, to say the least. The students never needed a reason before, but tonight they couldn't contain themselves as they chatted about their holiday plans. Not many of them were doing anything spectacular, but they were just as keen to inform anyone who'd listen just how much fun they were going to have away from Hogwarts. Sadly, that alone was enough to bring cheer or envy from everyone forced to listen this year.

'_What a year.'_ Perseus thought drearily as he watched over the crowd, ducking as Hagrid's giant elbow jerked out. He'd opted to sit with the teachers tonight in hopes of avoiding the conversation and the upcoming dread, but it was hopeless. Everyone was so keen to talk over each other, he could hear plans from all the way on the other side of the Great Hall. Hagrid wasn't exactly doing a great job of distracting him from the real problem either. The man was usually jolly and full of amusing stories, but right now all he could think about was the precarious situation of his employment.

Sadly, even the teachers' table was consumed by the misery that was the mere existence of the toad lady.

"So what do you say, Perseus? Do a pal a favour?" Hagrid asked hopefully, though careful to keep his voice down for once. Umbridge was only a few seats away and already failing to hide the looks she'd been giving the duo throughout all of dinner and her discovering the help would only make the point of asking moot.

"Sure Hagrid. It shouldn't be too hard. As long as you can keep the predators away from me, unicorns usually come running." Perseus nodded, not looking up from his food even as Hagrid cheered and had to physically calm himself down as the other teachers turned his way. It was a simple request, really. Just go to the woods and convince a unicorn to help Hagrid with a few fourth year classes. That was easy for Perseus. Though they don't like males much, if he was nearby, they practically flocked to Perseus. For whatever reason, they were all very excited to see him and turned out to be very loyal. Add the fact that he could speak to and understand anything with equestrian genes and all he had to do to get anything of or from them was ask. Within reason, of course. He would have to get Hagrid a male, the females were pregnant right now and wouldn't be keen to willing place themselves anything potentially dangerous, but that wasn't an issue. The only problem with the plan was that to get close enough to draw out a unicorn, he'd have to pass the school barriers, which meant that monsters and beasts would most likely come after him. Fortunately, Hagrid seemed to ward off most of them. It seemed that not many of them were too keen to mess with giant blood and he could take on most of what would dare to try.

Normally, the idea would excite Perseus. He rarely got to enjoy tracking the friendlier creatures of the forest. But this time wasn't for pleasure, it was for the soul point of making Hagrid look good at his job. A male successfully coaxing a full grown unicorn to a class and caring for it properly would be a huge deal, enough so that it would place huge holes in Umbridge's plan to fire him. While he was happy to help his 'fun, crazy uncle' figure, the fact that it was a desperate attempt to save him from the very person causing almost all of his friends to abandon the castle at the first opportunity took all the joy out of it.

All conversation with Hagrid died down after that. He'd caused far too much suspicion already. So Perseus simply pushed his food around his pate and sighed before simply pushing it away. The mood had killed his appetite.

'_Screw it._' He thought, pushing himself to his feet. He'd had enough. If he wanted to get away from all of this, then he might as well go to his room. At least that was still a toad free zone. However, before he could even make it to the end of the table, a hand softly, but firmly, grabbed onto his shoulder.

"Perseus, may I have moment of your time?" Albus asked as Perseus turned to greet him, only to frown, more than a little concerned at what he saw. Albus didn't look anything like his usual self. There was no twinkle I his eyes, no serene look on his face. Instead, a very troubled look was hidden behind his beard. Troubled and…almost guilty?

"Sure Albus. What's wrong?" Perseus asked, more than a little unnerved at the sight before him. After all, Albus Dumbledore was the master of the serene poker face. The last time Perseus had seen so much as a slip in that look was…well it was the day he told Perseus what truly happened to his mother. Whatever had happened, it was big and Perseus wasn't going to like it. Which made one particular fear spring to his mind as his eyes widened in horror. "Did…did Umbridge…"

"No, my boy, this has nothing to do with Professor Umbridge." Dumbledore spoke quickly, but quietly, squeezing his shoulder comfortingly. "However, it is rather important. Please, accompany me -"

"AAAHHHHH!" However, before he could finish his sentence, half the Great Hall's occupants were screaming and all of them were either tensing or jumping away. Whipping around, Perseus could only gasp and drop his jaw as darkness gathered, swirled and deepened right before the middle of the teacher's table. Nearby candles flickered and the area grew cold, if only for a second before the silhouette of something much more solid appeared, only for all of it to fade a second later as a dark clad figure hit the ground with a grunt and rolled out of it.

The entire school watched, frozen in fear and disbelief, as the intruder came to a stop with a groan, flopping face down on the stone. Perseus however, merely stared in awe and amazement. This person, this boy, radiated with power in a way that put even Alabaster and Ethan to shame. And the feel of it! Even from a distance, Perseus felt it washing over him. It felt so chilling and yet…embracing. And so familiar. A feeling that only tripled in intensity as the boy slowly raised his head to reveal an olive skinned face and deep, dark brown eyes. He'd seen this person before! He appeared so many times in his dreams. This boy…

"A shadow." Perseus barely heard it as Albus whispered beside him. If he had turned to look at him, Perseus would have been stunned all over again at the look of wide eyed shock on the Headmaster's face. "This changes everything."

* * *

**AN:** Hey all. Been a while, aye? Sorry about that. I've had a bit of trouble getting what I wanted in this chapter right. I hope you enjoyed it. Thanks again for all the reviews and stuff.

In other news, look who just made his entrance! Useless fact of the day, when this story idea first popped into my head, this arrival was the first scene I thought about. He was even going to be the first Demigod to make an appearance, after Percy obviously, Alabaster and Ethan were added to the story later. I'm very much looking forward to exploring a Nico who didn't lose his sister to death.

Well, that's all for now, folks. Catch ya next time.

Oh, and since have been asking, I went into this with no plans to give Percy a romance. Perseus and Alabaster were only intended to be brotherly That being said, I am well aware he Alabaster's relationship does seem like slow burn sometimes and I have no issues with making Perseus bisexual, so if I find that the plot's going that way or that it could benefit from it, it could happen. I guess the answer is we'll see.


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